


Animal Planet

by xdark_blue



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aliens, Fluff and Crack, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Pining, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 14:58:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 38,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10642230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xdark_blue/pseuds/xdark_blue
Summary: In which Dongwoo is an alien en route for Japan who ends up crash landing in Hoya's garden.And Hoya is a business man who simply doesn't have time for this.





	1. one.

**Author's Note:**

> co-authored by StarlightSpirit from aff.  
> will update on sundays and wednesdays.

 Japan.

 

One of the most glorious places in the entire galaxy, in Dongwoo’s humble opinion. Not that he had ever been there, but he had travelled to a lot of other places so he thought that he was qualified to have such an opinion. He had done extensive research when planning his journey, learning about all the different places in the Milky Way to try and find the one planet he wanted to visit. Nowhere had caught his fancy, until he discovered the open arms of Earth, and more specifically, Japan. Land of sushi and samurais, anime and manga, and that adorable neko-chan with the pretty pink bow. Dongwoo had been sold as soon as he discovered Hello Kitty, he just knew that he had to go there and collect all of the cute - or as the natives would say, kawaii - things that made Japan so fantastically and wonderfully awesometastic. After searching far and wide, it was his calling in life to settle in the tiny island country; he just knew it.

  
And now here he was, just minutes away from landing in the Land of the Rising Sun. He could hardly control his excitement - wait, scratch that. He wasn’t controlling his excitement. He was just jumping up and down in his squishy space ship seat. He was so happy that he had invested in such an immaculate space traveller - traffic was no joke during summertime intergalactic quests with tons of spaceships travelling at warp speed in every kind of direction. The power steering on his newly renovated Bang X2 - he wanted to splurge and buy the Hurricane model but fuel these days was so expensive - seriously made things so much easier. It was worth it though, for Dongwoo was nearly at the planet which ruled his dreams every night and this was probably the most exciting moment of his entire 23 earth years, 7 months, and 4 days of existence.

 

So exciting in fact, that when Dongwoo was in the middle of his victory dance his flailing arms accidentally broke off the handle on the lever of his throttle. Even worse, the lever had broken off in full throttle, pushing him into the Earth’s atmosphere at top speed. His mind went into hyperdrive, his fingers gliding across his control panel at an accelerated rate as he tried to figure out how to override the manual controls. But his efforts were fruitless; he was moving quickly towards the earth’s surface and the landing gear was deemed useless because there was a 99.9% chance that he was going to crash.

 

With no further thought, he grabbed his backpack, slipped his shoulders in and slammed his hand down on the bright red button to open up the emergency door. He was greeted by the cold chill of evening on Earth, causing him to suck in his breath at the sudden temperature change - he always functioned at an optimal heat of 69 degrees Celsius. He stepped to the edge of the exit, allowing himself one last fond embrace of the hard metal of the Bang X2 as a way of saying thanks for getting him this far. With a final kiss goodbye, he jumped out of the falling spaceship and barreled down to the ground far below. He freefell for a while, before his hands tugged at the string hanging from the backpack. Dongwoo heard the swoop of the parachute and it deployed above him, abruptly changing the speed of his descent to the surface below.

 

Despite the fact that he knew he hadn’t quite reached Japan - he had timed his playlist perfectly for his journey and he still had at least half of the chorus of Sugar Rush to go - he couldn’t help but feel happy. He may not have made it all the way to his country of choice, but he had made it to Earth; and that was a reason to smile. He giggled all the way to solid ground, his pink hair flying around his face as he fell.

 

 

 

 

Hoya was sleeping when he heard the crash. He sat up immediately as his heart thumped in his chest. Was somebody trying to break in? No… the security alarms would have gone off if that was the case. What was happening then?

 

Hoya tried to still his beating heart as he crept to his bedroom window. He opened up the blinds and peeked outside to be greeted by the sight of lights in his garden.

 

“What is going on?” He muttered to himself, trying to get a better view of the lights. The only thing he could really think was that perhaps it was some kids trespassing on his land. Judging by the colorful lights it appeared to be some fireworks, and that would explain the sudden loud noises. He glared at his backyard a little, before he realised that glaring wasn’t going to do him much good, so he shrugged on his dressing gown and slippers and marched downstairs.

 

He flung the back door open and stormed outside, marching towards the location of the disturbance. He was seething angry - he’d had a long day in which he had spent hours on video chat trying to sort out on big business deal with an overseas client, and tomorrow he was going to have to do it all over again. How dare those hooligans disturb his much needed sleep! He was going to teach them a lesson - as well as ensure that they paid for any and all damages inflicted on his backyard.

 

“You kids think it’s funny to cause a racket in the middle of the night? I’ll have you all arrested for trespassing so help me-” Hoya broke off mid rant, his eyes doubling in size when he saw the flickering flames around the smoking debris. He felt a shiver run down his spine when he realized that the colorful lights were not from fireworks at all, but from what appeared to be some sort of spaceship.

 

No, there was no way it could be a spaceship. A spaceship was something from those ridiculous sci-fi movies that Sungyeol liked to watch so much. They weren’t real, just a figment of delusional conspiracy theorists’ imaginations who were deranged enough to believe in an extraterrestrial presence outside of Earth.

 

Hoya was a logical man, he looked at the facts of the situation before coming to any conclusion, so surely there had to be some sort of reasonable explanation for a smoking piece of machinery that was crashed into his backyard. Perhaps this was the work of his brother, he was known for spending his money on ridiculous things that were ultimately useless, and a makeshift UFO seemed like something that Sungyeol would salivate over. He was actually quite intelligent, he just chose to apply his intellect to not so intelligent things.

 

The smirk slid back onto Hoya’s face; it was even better that his younger brother was the cause of this mess. He had been looking for a reason to get the irresponsible man out of his house, and you crashed one of your big, shiny toys into my favorite patch of petunias and I made it very clear that the flower bed was off limits and think of what this will do to my property value sounded like quite the start. Hoya’s head flew back and forth, his eyes searching wildly for the gangly limbs and gleaming eyes that perfectly described Sungyeol when he was in the midst of one of his nerdy schemes.

 

“Alright you overgrown choding, I know you are out here somewhere! There’s no point in hiding, you will have to come out eventually and when you do, you’ll be getting the ass kicking of the century!” Hoya barked, but the night was eerily quiet around him, sans the sound of fire crackling and the winding down of the machinery. Hoya stepped a bit closer to the giant object, peering over it suspiciously to try to get a better look. “I know you aren’t dumb enough to actually be inside of that thing, but if you are now is the time to say something so I can begin the chain of events that will inevitably end in your trip to the hospital.” He waited patiently, but instead of a cheeky remark back there was nothing.

 

Hoya was starting to get worried; what if Sungyeol actually did decide to jump inside a make believe UFO and had failed miserably during his landing. What if he was locked inside the clearly doomed spaceship but was too hurt to respond? His heart started to beat faster in panic as his concern for his brother grew. “Sungyeol this isn’t funny anymore! Come out! I know I said I was mad but I’ll go easy on you, just say something!”

 

But instead of hearing the pleading voice of his younger brother, he was met with the sounds of strange giggling. His head whipped around wildly, searching for the source of the noise. Even if his brother’s priorities were slightly out of order, Sungyeol definitely still had a healthy amount of fear of him, and giggling was not something he would dare to do in this situation. But the cackling continued on, getting louder by the second and Hoya finally looked up to the sky.

 

He had to blink a few times, unable to believe what was in front of his eyes. The giggling was coming from what seemed to be a man in some sort of strange suit, who was floating down from the sky on what looked to be a red and green polka dotted parachute.

 

“Wheeee!” The man yelled out in glee as he came in to land beside Hoya, much too gracefully for the speed at which he was travelling.

 

Hoya stared at him in blatant shock. Where the hell had he came from and what was he doing in his backyard? “Hey! How in the world did you end up here?”

 

The man turned to him with a surprised look, as if he hadn’t been expecting for Hoya to acknowledge his presence. “My parachute, silly! It’s been a while since I crashed… My poor little ship is officially a mess.” He looked wistful, his hands clasped in front of his chest as if he was sending up a prayer. But just a few seconds later his face changed entirely, a bright expression taking over his features. “But wow, I forgot how much fun flying is!” He did a small twirl to accentuate his statement, before ridding himself of his colorful parachute without further ado.

 

Hoya couldn’t say anything. This was just too bizarre. First he had been woken up by a bang and then he had seen the UFO looking thing and now there was this weird person standing beside him on the lawn as if he was the one who owned the place. A man with hair as pink as cotton candy, who appeared to be wearing a green dinosaur onesie.

 

The man noticed Hoya’s staring and his ear splitting grin widened even more. “Isn’t it awesome!? I got it in the inter-planet catalogue. Apparently these are all the rage on this planet and so I thought I would wear it so I would fit in with the locals. I gotta admit; you Earthlings have style. It’s so comfortable and warm and fuzzy and look I’ve got a tail!” He swung his butt round a little so the aforementioned tail whipped around him. He then stopped and stepped closer to Hoya, and before the other could react he reached out and grabbed Hoya’s ass. “But you don’t have a tail… where is your tail?”

 

“What are you doing?” Hoya hissed, spinning around to glare at the weirdo that had just violated him.

 

The newcomer looked confused. “I was looking for your tail but… you don’t have one. Why don’t you have one?”

 

“Are you on drugs? I’m going to call the police!” Hoya threatened, but the man looked unfazed. This unsettled Hoya, usually when he yelled at people they cowered and apologized immediately, but this man continued to smile at him as if he wasn’t violating the sanctity of Hoya’s private property. He cocked his head to the side, his ridiculously bright pink hair falling into his eyes. He moved closer to Hoya, getting in his personal space and making him extremely uncomfortable. “Why… are you looking at me like that?”

 

The man positively beamed at him, his eyes turning into crescents as he clapped his hands together. “Wow, I’ve never seen a creature from this planet up close and you are so…” He leaned back in so he was only an inch away from Hoya’s face. “Cute.”

 

“What?!” Hoya jumped back in surprise.

 

“And the welcome that Earthlings give is so warm! I never expected you to be so nice and hospitable. Some planets can be a real drag when it comes to registering as a documented alien during visits. I’m so happy now!” The crazy man continued his gleeful speech. “And I’m sorry that I crashed my spaceship in your flowers. I should probably get rid of these flames, huh?” He said all of this with that almost insane grin on his face and Hoya could only gawk as this random pink haired man turned to face the fire and waved his hands dramatically. Immediately, the fire died down to just a smoulder, so all that was left was the crackling spaceship and Hoya’s charred up petunias. “There! All done!”

 

Hoya’s mouth dropped open. “Did you just… make the fire disappear?”

 

The man looked troubled for a second. “Oh, did you not want me to? I was trying to save your dandelions. I can bring it back-” His arms were already raising and Hoya’s brain went into overdrive.

 

“No, no! Don’t bring it back.” Hoya stopped him, grabbing onto his sleeve to prevent another inferno. The man looked down at the hand that was touching him, before moving his eyes back to Hoya’s face.

 

“Really cute.” He muttered, and Hoya pulled back as if the man had burned him.

 

“Quit… saying things like that!” It was already difficult enough to accept the reality of the past ten minutes of his life, the last thing he needed was some giggling, fire manipulating man implying that he was adorable.

 

“But it’s true! And on my planet we love to tell the truth. When I see you I just want to hold you in my arms, cuddle with you and ruffle your hair!” He made a move towards Hoya who stepped back just as quickly.

 

“Stay where you are! And what do you mean your planet? I don’t know what you are doing here, or what kind of parlour tricks you used to make the fire go away, but I don’t trust you. You show up here in the middle of the night, with some spaceship replica and a ridiculous parachute and this whole thing is just- well, ridiculous! I can’t even bother to take you seriously when you are wearing a freaking dinosaur outfit. Did Sungyeol put you up to this? How much did he pay you?” Hoya wanted answers and he wanted them now.

 

The pink haired man touched his lips, his eyebrows scrunching together in an expression of intense concentration. “Sungyeol? I’m not sure what a Sungyeol is.” He blinked at Hoya as if he were at a loss. “Why? Should I find one? Is it as cute as you?” When Hoya stared at him blankly in response, he continued on. “Anyway, no one paid me to come to Earth, I wanted to! I’ve been dreaming of coming here for so long, and I finally travelled here and my mission was a success!” He pumped his fist in the air once, before looking confused again. “Well, I guess it wasn’t a complete success since I crashed my spaceship. Plus we are speaking Korean, which sadly leads me to believe that we aren’t in Japan. And I really wanted to land in Japan. It’s my favorite place in the entire galaxy, because as the locals say, it is very kawaii!”

 

Hoya stared at him for a solid three seconds, before turning away without another word. He could hear the man’s footsteps following him as he made his way to the house. “Wait! Where are you going?”

 

“To call the police.” Hoya responded, has patience officially gone after listening to the ridiculous explanation from the bizarre man.

 

“The police? But you only call the police when someone has done something bad! And I come in peace!” The man held up his hands. “Wait! Maybe it’s because I’m a stranger! I’m sorry, I’m still unaccustomed to Earth manners. Let me introduce myself to you. I am Dongwoodedoolop!” He held out his hand, jogging behind Hoya’s fast paces.

 

Hoya turned around in frustration. “You expect me to believe that anyone on this planet would name their child that?”

  
“But I’m not from this planet. I already told you that, silly! But rest assured that I do come in peace.” He repeated. “My mentor told me that all non-Earthlings have to say that when they land because you locals are scared of us. Why are you scared of us? Am I scary?” His expression grew sad and Hoya couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. Maybe this guy was a few colors short of a rainbow, but he did seem harmless enough. Maybe if he got him inside, Hoya could get some contact details and call up the correct mental institution to get him collected.

 

“You’re not scary.” He said, forcing a smile onto his face, “Why don’t you come inside and have a drink and you can tell me all about your planet and why you love Japan so much.”

 

The mental institution escapee smiled. “So you believe me?”

 

“Sure.” Hoya forced out. “Why wouldn’t I?” There was a pause as he opened the door to the house and then he turned back to the supposed alien. “So, what did you say your name was?”

 

“Dongwoodedoolop!”

 

“Dongwoodededoodoo?” Hoya tried. “Dongwoodoodedoo?”

 

The dinosaur clad man just stood and stared all this time. “Not quite right, but close! It’s Dongwoodedoolop!”

 

Hoya tried a couple more times before he finally shook his head and gave up. “I’m just going to call you Dongwoo, okay?”

 

“Sure!” The stranger replied with just as much gusto. “Dongwoo! I like that! It’s cute! So what’s your name? I believe it’s usual in Earth greetings that both names are exchanged? Or maybe I’m wrong… I might be wrong...”

 

Hoya cut in. “My name is Hoya.”

 

“Cuuuuuuuute!” Dongwoo squeeed. “But not as cute as you.” He reached over to stroke Hoya’s head but the annoyed man just moved away. “Awwww, you won’t let me pet you! You’re such a bad Okami-chan!”

  
“Okami… what? I just told you that my name is Hoya.”

 

“But you suit Okami better, because Okami is cute!” Dongwoo bounded past Hoya and threw himself onto the plushy couch. “Waaah! So soft! Why are Earth houses so adorable and soft and waaaah!” Hoya could only watch as Dongwoo rubbed his feet into the carpet - only recently installed, Hoya hoped this wouldn’t leave scuff marks - a look of bliss on his face.

 

“Please, try to keep your voice down!” He didn’t want to wake up his younger brother or give him the impression that he was open to the idea of taking in a charity case. He already had a hard enough time getting Sungyeol to keep his animal patients at the shelter. “And you probably think it’s comfortable because you’re used to white padded walls.” Hoya muttered, heading into the kitchen to make drinks, because he so desperately needed coffee right now. No, not coffee. Coffee would make him nervous, a nice cup of jasmine tea would do him very well right now.

 

“What do you mean white padded walls?” He heard Dongwoo ask, and Hoya could only sigh. Apparently this freak had super keen hearing as well, because Hoya was well mastered at muttering sassy comments under his breath so he knew the exact volume at which most people couldn’t hear him.

 

“Nothing!” Hoya called back.

 

“White padded walls sound fun though. I could bounce off them. It would be like a wall of trampolines!” Dongwoo paused thoughtfully. “I want to go on a trampoline. They don’t work the same on Mato because of the difference in the gravitational pull. Do you have a trampoline? Or a room with white padded walls? Maybe green padded walls instead. Green is my favorite color.”

 

“Of course it is.” Hoya replied. “I’m sure that we’ll be able to get you to the right place tomorrow, and I’m sure they’ll have a nice green padded room especially for you. Maybe it will even have a padded door, how awesome would that be?”

  
Dongwoo gasped. “Will it be in Japan? If it had green padded rooms and was in Japan, it would be awesometastic!”

 

“You never know! Maybe. You know what? I’ll see what I can do.”

 

“You will help me get to Japan? You would do that, just for me?” Dongwoo’s voice was full of awe.

Hoya handed him a mug of hot chocolate and sat down with his own herbal tea. “Of course I would. I’ll help you get to where you need to go.” Like a psychiatric ward.

 

“Waaaah, Earth people are even nicer than I thought they would be! I’m glad that I landed in your backyard Okami-chan. But you have such a nice house… you must be really important on this planet! Maybe I should call you Okami-san?” Dongwoo looked pensive for a moment.

 

“You could call me Hoya.”

 

“Nope! Okami-san it is!” He lifted the cup to his mouth and Hoya made a move to stop him from drinking, preparing to warn him that it was too hot. Dongwoo took a sip of the drink before he could, his face lighting up as he swallowed it. “Okami-san! This drink is delicious! So tasty!”

 

Hoya’s jaw dropped as Dongwoo took another long gulp. He could see the steam rising from the hot drink and he couldn’t believe that this stranger wasn’t in pain. He opened his mouth to ask about it but thought better. No doubt he would get some insane answer, when the real reason was probably something logical. Maybe Dongwoo had burned off his taste buds in his asylum or something. Yeah, that made sense. He flung any stray thoughts away and tried to concentrate on the bigger situation at hand right now.

 

“After you drink that, how about I show you to somewhere to sleep. You’ve had a very long journey from your planet, right Dongwoo?” Hoya tried his hardest to smother his inner bitch and actually sound convincing, and it seemed that he was doing a good job from the way that Dongwoo beamed.

 

“Yes! Planet Mato is so far away!”

 

“Exactly!” Hoya jumped in, “So maybe you should get some rest and we’ll see about getting you to Japan tomorrow, okay?”

 

“Okay!” Dongwoo nodded enthusiastically, “I am sleepy, and when I get to Japan the first thing I want to do is buy all the cute things and pet all the squishy animals, so if I sleep now then when I get to Japan I can just do that and I won’t need to sleep and-”

 

“Why don’t you drink your hot chocolate and then I can show you where you’ll sleep. You can tell me all about the wonders of Japan in the morning.”

 

Dongwoo’s eyes widened, and he lifted the cup to his lips and swallowed it all after Hoya’s encouragements. “Done! Can I sleep now Okami-san?”

 

Hoya just stood up and led the way to the nearest guest room, he let Dongwoo in who immediately threw himself onto the four poster bed. “Okami-san’s home is so big and everything is so nice. Is Okami-san a king or something?”

 

“No, I’m not a king.” Hoya sighed, choosing not to focus on the fact that a mental patient’s probably unsanitary body was going to lay on his immaculate sheets. He also ignored the use of the weird sounding name again. “I run my own business.” He explained, hoping that would end the questions about his supposed royalty.

 

“That’s soooo cool.” Dongwoo said in awe. “Anyway, I’m going to sleep so tomorrow comes sooner. I want tomorrow to come as quick as possible so I can experience Earth properly.” He grinned. “Goodnight Okami-san, thank you for being so nice to me.”

 

“Goodnight.” Hoya exhaled as he closed the door. Just as it was about to click closed he heard a voice shout out.

 

“Okami-san?”

 

“Yes?” Hoya tried to not let out how frustrated he was, he had always found that the best way to approach these weird situations was with tact and smiles. He was used to weird from Sungyeol. Granted, Sungyeol had never reached this level of bizarre, but he could apply the experience he had gotten to this moment.

 

“Will you sing me a goodnight song?” Dongwoo asked, his head tilting.

 

“No.” Hoya closed the door and headed to his room, hearing Dongwoo’s wondering voice as he moved away.

 

“Earth night is so pretty and dark. This moon is so small and dull compared to the two back at home…”

 

Hoya scratched his head as he walked away. Nothing had quite made sense since the moment the loud crash outside his window had woken him from his slumber.

 

Maybe if he slept, he would wake up and find that this was all some insane stress-induced dream. It would make sense, he had been having a really busy time at work.

 

Yeah, it all made sense now.

 

He hoped.

 

 

 

 

A/N: So there is chapter one of one of the most random things either of us will ever write (and Jade wrote a fic about Sungyeol looking like a noodle and Ray wrote one about quesadillas. That’s saying a lot). We hope this fills the Yadong crack alien void that everyone has so obviously been feeling.

 

 

So yeah, Hoya is judging and Dongwoo is just always happy and we think this sets the whole tone for this whole thing pretty well! Thanks to everyone who has subscribed before we even started this thing! CHYEA!

 

Comment and let us know what you think!

  
♡ Jade & Ray


	2. two.

Dongwoo let out a happy sigh, the last tendrils of his dream fading away to welcome him to the new day. He kept his eyes closed for a moment, recalling the splendorous taste of hot chocolate from the previous evening. It was a sweet drink, much sweeter than the stuff his mentor used to serve him on Mato, and it was the perfect thing to quench his thirst after such a long journey. The fact that Okami-san prepared it personally for him made it even better, it was a gesture full of kindness and it was just so adorable! Even if Okami-san had been upset that he had crashed into his backyard, it was clear that there were no hard feelings between them now. He even gave Dongwoo such luxurious accommodations to spend the night in, the mattress underneath him reminding him of the fluffy clouds in the sky.

 

He wondered if Okami-san was always so generous with his visitors, but somehow he didn’t think so. He seemed a little upset at first at his sudden arrival, but clearly Dongwoo had won him over with his charm to get an invitation to stay in his home! He smiled to himself, today would be a wonderful day; he would get to tell Okami-san all about his glorious plans for Japan.

 

He opened his eyes, the need to find the cute Earthling starting to overwhelm him. But instead of seeing the plain white ceiling above him, he was meet with unfamiliar wide eyes. The sparkling brown eyes were full with curiosity as he stared down at Dongwoo, who didn’t even jump back at this strange awakening. The stranger’s brow furrowed as he pulled back and stood above Dongwoo, his hands crossed over his chest.

 

“I don’t know you.” He finally said. “And I know everyone who comes into this house, but I don’t know you.”

 

Dongwoo grinned at this stranger, jumping into a sitting position and sticking his hand out as he had seen people do before. “I am Dongwoo. Well, that is my Earth name! I have been offered temporary lodgings in this wonderful place by the owner of the house, Okami-san!”

 

“I think you’re in the wrong place.” The man looked at him skeptically.

 

“Surely you must know him too! He’s very, very kind, he’s got the prettiest dark brown eyes, and very nice teeth actually, which would probably look amazing if he laughed, but I don’t think I’ve been able to make him laugh yet. But anyway, he is a very cute person, even when he is a little angry that I messed up his backyard.” Dongwoo looked thoughtful for a second, trying to come up with any other descriptions of his host. “Oh, and he makes the most delightful hot chocolate!“

 

“The owner of this house is Hoya, and he’s grumpy man who asks for rent from his dear brother even though he is rich. And he’s extremely protective of his possessions, can you believe that he has all that space in the backyard, and he couldn’t even spare me a little bit to build a racetrack for my remote control car collection? But no, the backyard just had to have another flower patch because flower patches are refined Sungyeol, not childish like racetracks.” The stronger mocked the owner with a haughty voice. He then paused for a moment. “But he does make great hot chocolate, when he’s feeling marginally generous.”

 

Dongwoo’s face lit up as he pieced together the stranger and the name in his mind. “Sungyeol? Are you Sungyeol? Okami-san told me about you! He thought that you paid me to come to Earth!”

 

“Paid you to come to Earth? Why would I do that?” Sungyeol asked, confused.

 

Dongwoo shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure, but Okami-san was very angry at the moment because I had crashed my spaceship into his petunias.”

 

“I can imagine that he would be. He’s very touchy about those petunias.” Sungyeol grinned wickedly. “Once I crashed my remote control helicopter into them, and he almost kicked me out. I bet he got sooo angry at you for crashing your spaceship.”

 

“He was, but then he was nice and made me the divine hot chocolate so it was all okay!”

 

Sungyeol nodded sagely. “The hot chocolate does make the bad good. But that really sucks that you crashed your spaceship! All the models I’ve tried out I’ve never been able to get off the ground! I even splurged on my 21st birthday and bought a replica of a pod racer from The Phantom Menace. It looked awesome, the exterior was to die for, but I couldn’t even get it to turn on! How long were you able to keep yours in the air? It must have cost a fortune.”

 

“It was state of the art, the most marvelous spaceship I ever had the pleasure of owning…” Dongwoo mourned for a brief moment, before perking up again. “But the Bang X2 is really fast! It took me three Earth days to get from Mato to this planet. It was so comfortable too. Intergalactic travelling usually makes me space sick but the suspension on my ship was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. And it took me ages to save up for it, almost two whole Earth years to pay for the trip! Gas prices on Mato these days are outrageous, you wouldn’t even believe it! Luckily I was able to get a bargain on some liquid nitrogen, so everything worked out in the end!”

 

“Mato? Where is that? Geography was never my strong point in school.”

 

“Oh, Mato is a tiny little planet in the Andromeda galaxy. It’s not too far from here, actually! It’s a lovely place, we have the most wonderful summers, but that could be because of our closer proximity to the sun. I guess I would be hard to recognize with my pink hair, most of the people on my planet are blonde, but I’ve always liked to stand out! I had never even considered changing my hair color until I stumbled upon the country of Japan while researching it for a project in school during Earth week. And well, everything about that place is just perfect. I just knew that someday I would have to do whatever it takes to live there! But unfortunately, I got a little too zealous during my victory dance and messed up my landing a bit, so I ended up in Korea instead! But Okami-san has been so accommodating, and I’m sure he’ll do all that he can to help me reach my final destination!”

 

“So you’re saying that you are an alien, who crashed en route to Japan?”

 

“Well… I prefer extraterrestrial lifeform, but I guess alien works too!” Dongwoo smiled brightly, “And whilst I am saddened that I didn’t make it to the land of Hello Kitty-chan, I’m very glad that of all places to crash, I landed in Okami-san’s backyard. My welcome on this planet has been so very pleasant!”

 

“So you’re actually an alien, who crashed into the backyard on accident?”

 

Dongwoo chewed on his lip. ‘Well, yes. I think we covered that bit already…” He wasn’t exactly sure why the Earthling was repeating the already established facts, but a warm pair of arms around him stopped his musings entirely.

 

“Oh my god! You’re an alien! And you’re in my house! This is amazing!” He screamed, bouncing the two of them up and down on the bed. His enthusiasm was contagious, and Dongwoo felt his own heart fill with glee.

 

“Why yes! I am and I did! And it is quite an amazing thing, now that you mention it!”

 

Sungyeol immediately stood up, his eyes filled with determination. “Dongwoo, you may consider me your helper on your quest to fulfill your destiny. I swear, on my life as an Earthling and a believer in otherworldly beings as instilled in me from watching Star Trek for over half of my life, that I will do everything in my power to make your stay on this planet easier. Consider me your guide, Lee Sungyeol is at your service!”

 

“Oh, while that is very generous of you Lee Sungyeol, unfortunately it is tradition that the first person you meet on a planet must become your ambassador. So the burden must fall to Okami-san. But I do rather like you and I can see that adorableness runs in this family… I have another proposition for you.”

 

Sungyeol nodded with the utmost seriousness. “I am listening Dongwoo.”

 

“Perhaps we can… how do you say it on this planet… become best friends? Then we can explore this terrain together, conquering whatever obstacles that should rise in our path as equals.”

 

The tall boy dropped down to one knee. “I would be honored to be your sidekick Dongwoo.”

 

Dongwoo clapped happily. “Splendid! In honor of our close relationship, it is only right that I give you a name fitting to your person. From now on, you shall be known as Kirin-chan!”

 

“I like that! Kirin-chan!” Sungyeol bounced the two of them again in his joy. “Is it from your special Mato language? What does it mean?!”

 

Dongwoo laughed, an infectious sound that had Sungyeol throwing his head back in sync. “No, silly. It’s Japanese! It means giraffe, because you’re so tall like a giraffe. Okami-san is Okami-san because he looks like a wolf, those sharp teeth and dark eyes and fuzzy hair that I just want to pet!”

 

“Don’t even try it. He’s a grouchy old wolf.” Sungyeol laughed. “As your best friend, that is my first ultra serious piece of advice.”

 

“I will heed your advice, wise Kirin-chan.” Dongwoo said gravely. “Please tell me everything there is to know about the generous Okami-san, for I do not wish to be responsible for causing bad relations between Earth and Mato. I already know that Okami-san dislikes being called cute...”

 

Sungyeol gasped. “You called him cute?”

 

“Yes! He is very cute, and on my planet we value honesty above all else. I thought that the best way to build a rapport with my ambassador would be to be truthful, so I was.” Dongwoo pouted slightly, “He didn’t seem to appreciate it though.”

 

“Oh my gosh! You actually called him cute! You called Lee Howon cute?!” Sungyeol broke out in raucous laughter, his hand slapping the bed so hard in his mirth that the springs rebounded. He rolled over, falling off the bed into a heap of giggles onto the floor. Dongwoo stared for a moment before his own cawing laughter split through the room, he repeated Sungyeol’s actions, slapping the bed before rolling off it to land beside Sungyeol and laughing with the hysterical Earthling. “You called… him… cute!”

 

Dongwoo’s sides were splitting with pain from the laughter and his back and ribs ached, but he couldn’t stop. Beside him was his very own best friend laughing, and in the TV programmes that he had used to research friendship, the one who had begun the laughing fit also had to be the first to stop. So he laughed and laughed, as did Sungyeol, neither of them stopping.

 

Well, not until the door swung open and in the doorway stood a fuming angry Hoya. “What is going on here?” Sungyeol immediately stopped laughing, so Dongwoo followed suit. His body ached from all of the laughing and rolling and floor-slapping and his eyes were full of mirthful tears as he looked up at the man in the doorway.

 

“Okami-san!” He shouted excitedly, jumping up to run and greet the nice man with a big hug.

 

“Not. A. Chance.” Hoya sighed, pushing past Dongwoo to step towards his brother. “Of course, I should have known you would be involved in this awful racket at six in the morning.” He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, hair that Dongwoo gleefully noted was pointing in all directions. It stuck up when he pulled his hand back and Dongwoo giggled. Hoya just glanced at him disdainfully and then turned back to Sungyeol. “I knew I should have taken measures to keep you two apart. Who knows what sort of crazy stories he told you that you believe. Did he tell you he was an alien yet? He tried that one on me last night.”

 

Sungyeol nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! And he has appointed me as his best friend and sidekick for his time on Earth, a role that I have wholeheartedly accepted. I wanted to be his guide, but you have got that position already… Why did it have to be you that witnessed the spaceship crash! Why couldn’t I have been here instead?! I knew I was a heavy sleeper, but I didn’t realize it would come at this cost!”

 

“Don’t be sad, Kirin-chan!” Dongwoo piped up. “You and I will have so much fun as best friends.”

 

“I guess that’s true! Ambassador is so political and politics are so boring! Now best friend - that’s a role that needs someone fun and cheerful and awesome. Someone like me!”

 

Hoya just glanced between the two of them in disbelief. “You’re buying this?” He said. “You’re actually going to believe that this… this… asylum escapee is an alien? A weird, pink haired, human looking, Japanophile alien?”

 

Sungyeol actually looked offended. “And you didn’t? Hyung, I know that you’re uptight, serious nature hinders your ability to believe in the possibility that aliens are real, but there is literally an unidentified flying object in our backyard. How can you deny the truth that is staring at you in the face! Dongwoo is a guest here from the planet Mato, and it is your job to take care of him as his ambassador!”

 

Hoya scoffed at the title. “I never agreed to be anything! All I did was give him a place to sleep until the morning, and now I am going to scour the internet for the closest mental institutions so I can get him back where he belongs! The fact that you are actually on his side is making me question whether or not I should try to turn you in with him!”

 

“I’m not the one being crazy, you are! Do you have any idea how lucky we are! This is seriously amazing, we are actually standing in the presence of an alien, and all you can do is accuse him of lying! On Mato they value honesty above all else-”

 

“Oh my god, do you hear yourself? There’s no such thing as Mato! You need to actually grow up for once and stop living in a fantasy world!” Hoya bit out sharply, and Sungyeol closed his mouth in shame.

 

Dongwoo couldn’t stand listening to the brothers argue over him any longer. “Okami-san, Kirin-chan, please do not fight because of me. I don’t like being the cause of anger. I just wanted to come to Earth and join all the lovely creatures that I have been dreaming about for so long. I never considered that my presence could actually make Earthlings… unhappy.”

 

Sungyeol shook his head. “No Dongwoo, you’ve made me happy, really! It’s just… Hyung has a hard time believing in these sorts of things. I hate to ask you this because I believe you 100 percent and you’d think that the UFO would be enough, but maybe if you could show him something… prove that you’re from a different planet, he will be happy too.”

 

Dongwoo looked at Hoya with desperate eyes. “Is that true Okami-san? Will my powers make you happy?”

 

Sungyeol glared at Hoya, who was staring away from them with the utmost concentration. Sungyeol then kicked him in the shin, and Hoya made a noise of pain. “Ouch! Okay, fine. I’ll play along. If Dongwoo manages to blow my mind with his ‘powers’ then I will accept the fact that he’s an alien.” In reality he had no intentions of doing so, because there was clearly no way that was possible, because aliens weren’t real. But he knew if he didn’t agree to the theatrics that Sungyeol would probably never let it go, and he didn’t feel like dealing with his annoying whining in the future.

 

Dongwoo stood up, pacing around the room as his finger tapped on his lips. “Hmm… the things I can do are just a natural part of me. It’s hard to think about which one them would be more impressive than another.”

 

“Just tell us about them. Brainstorm out loud so to speak.” Sungyeol tried to encourage him, internally squeeing over his moment of aide as a sidekick.

 

“Well, I mean my powers vary. I guess there are a few things I could do…” He paced a little before pausing. “Oh, I know! Matoki are very talented when it comes to tongues! It’s part of what makes us so friendly during intergalatic relations!”

 

“Tongues? Friendly? Dongwoo I have to admit, I didn’t think you were the type…” Sungyeol responded with raised eyebrows.

 

“What do you mean Kirin-chan? I love speaking in different languages! Aside from my native tongue I adore Japanese, but you already know that. But Korean is really fun too! Definitely easier than Delpha and it sounds nicer than Zorgg, which I am convinced is really just a series of different sounding grunts!”

 

“So you can speak and understand any language in the universe? That’s so freaking sweet.” Sungyeol said in awe, and Hoya scoffed.

 

“He’s talking about languages that aren’t even real. And even if he does know multiple ‘Earth’ languages, that’s not really that rare. There are tons of people who can easily learn languages. Hell, I learned English in a year when I decided to globalize my business. That’s really not that impressive.”

 

Dongwoo looked a little crestfallen at the lack of praise, and Sungyeol spoke up in his defense. “It is still very impressive to be able to speak more than one language Dongwoo! I only know Korean, and I still make mistakes with pronunciation sometimes. You sound like you were born here!”

 

The pink haired man blushed under the compliment. “Oh, thank you Kirin-chan! I try really hard to fit in when I visit a planet, and the best way to do that is with communication! The ability to overcome language barriers makes things much easier. But I know it’s not necessarily that cool.”

 

“Well, do you have any other powers?” Sungyeol asked hopefully.

 

Dongwoo returned to pacing, his finger tapping against his lip in thought once again. “Ah! How do you feel… about raisins?” He exclaimed, pausing in his steps.

 

“Raisins?” Hoya and Sungyeol asked in unison.

 

“Yes, raisins. You know, dried fruit. Raisins and dates and-”

 

Hoya cut him off. “I know what they are, but what does that have to do with anything?”

 

“Well once, back on Mato, I ran out of food. The first food I could think of was raisins, so I just used my powers to make raisins. I could do that now if you wanted me to.” Dongwoo suggested.

 

Sungyeol grinned at the suggestion. “Yes! I love raisins.”

 

Hoya glared at him. “No. No raisins.” He shook his head. “Why am I even humouring this stupidity? Raisins!” He moved to leave the room but Dongwoo reached out to grab him.

 

“Okami-san! Don’t go…” His face dropped.

 

Hoya pulled away from the grasp. “You’re hands are so hot.” He whispered, spinning to face Dongwoo. “There’s no way you can be this warm and not be ill with a fever… What-”

 

“We Matoki have a higher core body temperature than you Earthlings!” Dongwoo giggled, “We’re warmhearted and warm blooded! That’s my motto in life! It makes it easier for us to use certain powers though, like making fire and-”

 

Sungyeol gasped. “Wait! You can make fire?”

 

“Yes! Fire and raisins and lots of other things!” Dongwoo grinned. “I was going to suggest that I show you fire, but Okami-san got angry at me for the fire from my spaceship. He made me get rid of it last night… I thought raisins was a better idea because who doesn’t like raisins?”

 

“Me…” Hoya interjected dryly.

 

Dongwoo shook his head sadly. “Okami-san doesn’t like fire or raisins? That must make you very sad….”

 

“He does lead a very sad, lonely life.” Sungyeol intoned.

 

“I am perfectly happy with my life! And I do like fire, just not when it’s turning my petunias to charcoal!” Hoya ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “What exactly was the point of this conversation again?”

 

“Kirin-chan said that if I showed Okami-san my powers he would believe me, so I was going to make raisins. But I think I’ll make fire instead cause fire is my favorite…” With no further words, Dongwoo pushed his hand out, palm up, and a flame shot out from his hand to the light fixture, smashing one of the glass bulbs. “Oopsie…” Dongwoo shrugged sheepishly. “I guess I got a bit carried away again… sorry.”

 

Hoya and Sungyeol were just staring at him in shock.

 

“That was….” Hoya started.

 

“Awesome…” Sungyeol finished.

 

“I was going for ‘an extremely expensive piece of decoration’.” Hoya deadpanned. “But I guess it was pretty impressive, for a magic trick.”

 

Sungyeol sighed in frustration and bent down to pick up a piece of glass that had fallen beside the bed.

 

“No! Kirin-chan will hurt himself if he picks the sharp glass up! Let me!” Dongwoo protested. He raised his hand again and all of the glass raised from the floor and hovered in mid-air. “Where should I dispose of this?” He turned to Hoya.

 

Hoya just pointed at the waste basket in the corner of the room wordlessly, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets as the glass floated to the waste basket and dropped in with a ching.

 

“All done!” Dongwoo smiled. “So what can I do to prove that I really am from Mato?”

 

“I think you already have.” Sungyeol whispered, staring at his brother who looked as though he was about to faint with shock.

 

“Is that right, Okami-san? Have I made you believe me?!” Dongwoo asked eagerly, looking up at Hoya with wide, hopeful eyes. Hoya could only nod slowly at the alien, who grinned widely. “Yay! I was sad that you didn’t believe me, because you’re my ambassador and so you have to believe me, but now that you do I am super duper happy!” He ran up and gathered the rigid Hoya into his arms in a hug to show just how happy he was. It took a few moments before he felt Hoya’s weight press against him. “And yay! Now Okami-san is hugging me back!” He grinned, before realising that Hoya wasn’t hugging him back. “Okami-san… Are you okay? Okami-san?” He stepped back, feeling Hoya slump completely against him.

 

“Oh my god, he’s fainted!” Sungyeol shouted, laughing raucously. “Hoya actually fainted!”

 

Dongwoo stepped back in shock, accidentally letting go of the deadweight that he was holding up. He could only thank his fast reflexes when he immediately used his powers to stop Hoya from hitting the floor.

 

“Is he okay? What should I do with him?” Dongwoo asked worriedly, looking at the unconscious being floating in front of him.

 

Sungyeol just pointed to the door. “Why don’t you take him to the kitchen? I’m hungry and we have tons of Earth food I can make you try! Plus, Hoya will probably need the coffee when he wakes up to the realization that his boring life just got a lot more interesting.”

 

 

A/N: So here’s chapter two of the total what-the-fuckery that is Animal Planet. We hope you enjoyed the Dongyeol here (cause Sungyeol would totally be the type to immediately jump on board with alien antics) they are just so adorable like this and poor Hoya has to deal with their shenanigans.

SHENANIGANS GALORE.

(Who can really blame him for fainting at this point?)

 

We hope you enjoyed it and as always we’d love to know what you think, so leave a comment!

Until next time!

  
♡ Jade & Ray


	3. three.

Hoya sighed, dropping the stack of papers that he had been reading through on the kitchen table. He didn’t often make it a habit to work outside of the office, but he was already behind on these audit checks and he couldn’t afford to lose any more time today. He rubbed his eyes, the words blurring in front of him.

  
“Wake up, Howon.” He mumbled to himself, shoving a slice of toast in his mouth and chewing slowly, trying to take in the words on the paper in front of him. It was no use. He was just too tired. The past week had seriously taken it’s toll on him and he was getting much less than his usual eight hours of sleep. It was no fault of his own though. It was all down to that freaking alien.

 

Ever since Dongwoo had entered his house, all the alien had done was cause chaos wherever he went. Until now, Hoya had done a great job at keeping Dongwoo on house arrest, hidden away from anyone but himself and Sungyeol, but he could tell that the alien was getting restless and who knew what sort of destruction he could cause if his boredom got the best of him.

 

Hoya scoffed to himself, angrily taking another bite of his breakfast. A week ago if someone had even mentioned the world alien in front of him, he would think they were a lunatic. He could only ignore the truth for so long, and that fateful night in the garden had tested his beliefs. But he held out hope that he would wake the next morning and the entire thing would turn out to have been a silly figment of his imagination. But it wasn’t a dream, actually more like a nightmare, and he was rudely awakened the next day by the alien’s antics with his younger brother.

 

Of course Sungyeol had immediately believed Dongwoo’s words, the alien’s arrival had been nothing short of a dream come true for the younger man. Hoya was more practical and much harder to convince, but even he couldn’t argue with fire manipulation and telekinesis. To say he was shocked was an understatement, there was actually someone from another planet residing in his home, and suddenly he was responsible for the alien’s well being.

 

It only made sense that the weight of the burden had made him a little dizzy. He had not passed out - no matter what Sungyeol said - he had merely needed a moment to recollect himself. Hoya was actually considered to be the ambassador of Earth to the alien from Mato, and even if the entire situation was ridiculous, he didn’t exactly want to be responsible for ruining intergalactic relations between two planets. So over the past week he had been running his business from home, keeping a watchful eye on Dongwoo and basically never letting the man leave his sight, for his own good.

 

What other choice did Hoya really have though? It wasn’t like he could release Dongwoo onto the world. Not only was the world not ready for the insane pink haired alien, he didn’t think that the aforementioned alien was ready for Earth. It wasn’t all cute fuzzy animals and nice kind people, there were so many bad things in this world that Dongwoo seemed ignorant to.

 

Hoya ran a hand through his hair. When had he started to worry about Dongwoo? As much as the alien still frustrated him to no end, he was just so good. He may have done stupid things - like that one time he decided to sprinkle glitter all over Hoya’s very important paperwork to ‘make it more pretty’ - but he always had the best intentions.  

 

It was for that reason that Hoya almost didn’t want to ruin Dongwoo’s naive view of this planet, so it just seemed the best option to keep him hidden away, where he couldn’t discover Earth and Earth couldn’t discover him. That was a plan that Dongwoo didn’t seem to agree with though, as he was getting more and more fidgety by the day. Hoya really had no idea how he was going to keep it up.

 

Hoya’s thoughts were disrupted by hot hands covering his eyes, plunging his world into darkness, and a voice in his ear.

  
“Guess who, Okami-san!”

 

Hoya almost jumped out of his skin. “Dongwoo!” He scolded, but the alien just pulled his hands away and clapped gleefully.

 

“Okami-san is so clever, it is Dongwoo!”

 

“Dongwoo, you shouldn’t be sneaking up on people like that!” He hissed, spinning around angrily to face the grinning alien.

 

Dongwoo just looked confused. “But sneaking around is fun! Me and Kirin-chan played hide and seek last night and that was really fun-”

 

“That’s not the same thing.” Hoya sighed, “I am trying to work! What if I had spilled my coffee on my papers because you scared me so much.”

 

“But you didn’t…”

 

“What if I had?”

 

“But… Okami-san didn’t spill his coffee on his papers, so why is Okami-san angry at me?”

 

Hoya just shook his head in frustration. “Forget it.” He said. There was no use trying to explain anything to this dense alien. He glanced up at Dongwoo from his chair, who standing next to him with a sad expression. He felt his own face soften. “It’s okay… You just scared me, that’s all. Just don’t sneak up on me next time, okay?”

 

Dongwoo’s face lit up. “Okay Okami-san, I won’t! I promise!”

 

Hoya nodded, turning away from him to focus on his breakfast and paperwork. He could practically hear Dongwoo thinking behind him, shifting his weight around and nervously pulling on his pink hair. He sighed, looking back at the clearly anxious alien. “Dongwoo, is there something else?”

 

“Well, now that Okami-san mentions it…” He kneeled down next to Hoya, setting his chin on the tabletop and giving his best pout. “I was wondering if maybe… perhaps… there was a chance that Okami-san would let me go out and explore today. I really, really, really want to play! I promise I’ll be really good!”

 

“Dongwoo, we talked about this-”

 

“I know we did, but that was forever ago! And I’ve been trying to be patient, really I have, but I came to Earth because I wanted to see- well, Earth. Not that I don’t love Okami-san’s house, because it is amazing and spacious and beautifully decorated and-”

 

“Dongwoo.”

 

“Sorry, I know I’m doing the rambling thing again but I just really want to go outside!” Dongwoo pouted.

 

“You can go outside-” Dongwoo’s face lit up, “to the backyard.” Dongwoo’s face fell.

 

“Okami-san, me and Kirin-chan explored the backyard three days ago. I want to see more.” The alien was practically squirming next to him, all pent up energy and enthusiasm.

 

Hoya looked down at him, at his sparkling eyes that were so full of desire to see the world, and he actually felt… bad for the alien. He shook his head, as if that would make the empathy go away, but another Okami-san uttered from Dongwoo’s mouth made him feel weak again.

 

“Dongwoo, I know how badly you want to leave the house, but right now just isn’t a good time. The world is much more complicated than you think it is, and I’m responsible for you.”

 

“But Okami-san, I-”

 

“I am your ambassador, right?”

 

Dongwoo bit his lip, already sensing from Hoya’s tone that he wasn’t going to win this fight. “...Yes.”

 

“Then that means as long as you are on my planet, that what I say goes. I’m sorry Dongwoo, really. You’ll just have to be patient.” Hoya turned away from him, focusing back on his paperwork to signal that the discussion was over. Dongwoo slid into the seat next to him at the kitchen table, resting his chin on his folded palms, looking as if his entire world had collapsed around him. He was the picture of despair, his bright eyes now downcast and sadness just seemed so out of place on him that Hoya could barely look at him anymore.

 

“I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!” Sungyeol’s voice rang out, his sudden appearance in the kitchen breaking the silence. “Gosh, what is the point of having roommates if no one wakes you up when you hit the snooze button too many times?” He complained, yanking the coffee pot off the burner to pour himself a cup.

 

Hoya glanced at him, taking in his messy hair and slightly wrinkled clothes. “Sungyeol, you own the place. It’s not like it’s going to open up without you.”

 

“That’s not the point hyung.” He snapped back, taking a long gulp of the steaming liquid.

 

“Well maybe you wouldn’t be so tired if you would have went to bed at a decent time, instead of staying up late to watch Battlestar Galactica with Dongwoo.”

 

“Hey, that was for very important research-” The sudden sound of Dongwoo pushing back his chair from the table stopped him mid sentence. The alien muttered out that he was going to his room, and marched out of the kitchen.

  
The two brothers watched him go, Sungyeol staring at his retreating back with confusion. “What was that about? I mean, he told me last night that the show had a lot of inaccuracies about space travel but he didn’t seem upset about it.”

 

Hoya sighed, rubbing his temples. “You didn’t do anything Sungyeol, he’s upset with me.”

 

“Upset with you? He practically worships the ground that Okami-san walks on. He thinks you are even cuter than Japan, and that’s saying something.” Sungyeol teased.

 

“Not when Okami-san tells him he isn’t allowed to leave the house.”

 

Sungyeol made a sound of comprehension, sitting down in front of Hoya at the table with his coffee. “Listen hyung, I know we disagree on this-”

 

“Of course we do Sungyeol. For you Dongwoo is just this life sized… toy that you can play games with and ask all your burning questions to. But to me he is a responsibility, I can’t just open the front door and set him loose on the city. He could get hurt and then where would we be?”

 

Sungyeol set down his cup angrily. “Okay, first of all, I do not think he is a toy, he’s a person. And by the way, you’re the one who is treating him like an animal by keeping him caged up in this house. He travelled all the way to Earth because he wanted to explore what this planet had to offer. Not that he isn’t grateful to you or your hospitality, but I highly doubt that when he envisioned his stay here that it included spending all of his time indoors.”

 

“I know that Sungyeol, but I can’t risk him getting hurt!” Hoya argued back. He was expecting his brother to list all the ways he was ‘wrong’, but instead Sungyeol picked up his coffee mug, taking a sip with a curious expression on his face. “Why… are you looking at me like that?”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Sungyeol replied nonchalantly, trying to hide his grin in his coffee cup.

 

“Sungyeol, tell me whatever little scheme your brain is thinking up right now.” Hoya demanded.

 

“I’m not thinking of a scheme hyung, I’m just trying to figure out when you started caring this much.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Sungyeol set down his mug, crossing his arms to rest on the table. “Well, no offense, I just figured that the reason you’ve been keeping Dongwoo inside the house was because you were boring and lame. I didn’t realize it was because you actually care about Dongwoo. Since when did he change from a nuisance to someone you enjoy being around?”

 

“I don’t enjoy being around him! I’ve just had to spend a lot of time with him this week while watching him, that’s all. I’ve just gotten used to his presence, nothing more.” Hoya shifted nervously in his seat under Sungyeol’s knowing stare.

 

“Really.” Sungyeol deadpanned. “So if I were to say that I could get my own place, and Dongwoo could live with me-”

 

“No, absolutely not. You have no concept of responsibility and under your watch who knows how many things Dongwoo could get into and you don’t even realize how clumsy he is - he doesn’t know how half of the machinery works on this planet - and he’s bound to hurt himself doing something that shouldn’t be risky at all and that is just not a good idea.” Hoya finished strongly, leaving no room for discussion.

 

Sungyeol shook his head, laughing lightly. “Lee Howon, since when did you have a heart?”

 

Hoya sighed exasperatedly. “I don’t have time for this, I needed to have these reports looked over by breakfast and aren’t you running late or something?”

 

“I am, but this is definitely more important. It’s okay to care for Dongwoo, hyung. I know that you do. But you also have to realize that you can’t lock him away and shield him from everything. Eventually he’s going to have to see what’s out there, and it’s only a matter of time until he does. Would you rather him tell you when he decides to go exploring, or do it behind your back out of fear that you would get angry at him? Because eventually he will go looking, and then what will you do?”

 

“I don’t know.” Sungyeol narrowed his eyes at him and Hoya lifted his hands in defense. “I don’t know Sungyeol. I don’t exactly have a plan for this, and I always have a plan for everything. He asked me if he could go out today and when I told him no… he just looked so sad. I know that I’m hurting his feelings, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it. I’m not sure how to keep him safe and let him satisfy his curiosity. Usually I have the answers but with Dongwoo- I’m just not exactly sure how I’m supposed to take care of an alien. If we were talking about babysitting an annoying little brother, then this would be easy.” Sungyeol reached out with his too long arms to try to swat him, but Hoya moved away with practiced evasion.

 

“I’ll ignore that last bit, just because I’m too tired to retaliate. But do you at least understand where Dongwoo is coming from?” Sungyeol asked him and Hoya nodded.

 

They settled into a silence, Sungyeol sipping his coffee and Hoya pretending to look over his paperwork, until the latter came up with an idea. “What if… Dongwoo were to go to work with you? That way he could get out of the house, but he would still have some supervision.” He looked up at his brother, whose eyes were shining with excitement. “Hey, this is serious. If I let you take him to the clinic, you have to promise me that he will come back in the exact same condition that he left in.”

 

Sungyeol came around the table, wrapping his arms around his brother in a hug. “Of course he will! We’re going to have so much fun, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!!”

 

“Sungyeol. Your fanboying isn’t exactly instilling any confidence in me.” Hoya reminded him, and Sungyeol tried to hide his excitement.

 

“I mean, yes brother. I will be responsible for Dongwoo’s well being, and I promise to bring him back in one piece.” Sungyeol’s tone was serious, but his still clapping hands were betraying him. Hoya rolled his eyes, trying to fight his own smile.

 

“Alright. I guess you should finish getting ready for work then.” Sungyeol nodded excitedly, immediately gulping down the rest of his coffee and practically sprinting out of the kitchen. “Wait!” Sungyeol stopped in the doorway, his body bouncing with eagerness. “Let me tell Dongwoo.” His brother gave him an okay sign, before disappearing out the room.

 

Hoya sighed, his eyes landing on the papers in front of him. He pushed them away, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to concentrate whilst his mind was still on Dongwoo. He felt a flicker of panic at the thought of allowing the alien out into the world - he knew that Sungyeol cared strongly about Dongwoo and wouldn’t deliberately put him into any potentially dangerous situations, but he also couldn’t help but worry.

 

He had to look on the bright side though. At least he could go into the office today. He could make sure that nobody was slacking in his absence and catch up on all the work that he had been putting off since Dongwoo’s arrival. He would try not to let himself get too worked up with concern.

 

Hoya did make a note to keep his phone right next to him all day though, just in case.

 

He climbed up the stairs with a heavy sigh, preparing to tell Dongwoo that he would be allowed out of the house. He expected the alien to be ecstatic at the news and there was almost a sense of relief mixed in with concern at the fact that Dongwoo would no longer be trapped here in his home. Hoya couldn’t help the guilt that he had felt for the last week, he knew that Dongwoo wanted to explore and he couldn’t help but feel angry at himself that he was bringing the usually bright, bubbly alien down.

 

He knocked politely on Dongwoo’s door, opening it when he heard the whispered come in. He found Dongwoo propped up his bed, leaning back on the pillows as he played with his puppy stuffed animal. Dongwoo had practically demanded the thing last week, and spent a lot of his time cuddling with the fluffy thing while Hoya was too busy with his paperwork. But now the little animal was propped up on his chest, and Dongwoo was stroking it with that sad expression still on his face.

 

“Dongwoo?” He started, and the alien turned to him.

 

“Yes, Okami-san?” Dongwoo responded, but his voice held none of his usual enthusiasm.

 

Hoya walked over, taking a seat on the bed next to the alien. “Are you okay?”

 

Dongwoo looked up with wide eyes. “I’m sad.” He admitted.

 

“I know, Dongwoo.” Hoya could only sigh.

 

“I really, really, really want to go out and explore Earth. I mean, I know it’s not Japan, but I think that I will like Korea as well. I’m really glad that I landed here and met Okami-san, and I know that Okami-san is only trying to look out for me.” Dongwoo’s lip jutted out. “But I so desperately want to see all of the pretty things on Earth…”

 

Hoya bit his lip, feeling the faint guilt in his chest expand into something that made him feel like a bad person. “I am only trying to keep you safe and I’m sorry that I made you sad. But I came in here to tell you some news that might make you happy again.”

 

Dongwoo looked up hopefully. “Okami-san?”

 

“I’m going to let you go out today-”

 

“Really?! Okami-san is being serious?” Dongwoo’s face lit up with excitement.

 

“But only under Sungyeol’s supervision. I’m going to let you go to work with Sungyeol today, but you have to promise me that you’ll stay with Sungyeol and do whatever he asks.”

 

“Oh yes! I promise! I pinky promise! I get to go out and see things and do things and I can play with Kirin-chan and-”

 

“Sungyeol will be working.” Hoya reminded him.

 

“Does Kirin-chan work in an office like Okami-san?” Dongwoo asked politely.

 

Hoya shook his head. “No, Sungyeol is a veterinarian. That means he looks at animals that are sick and helps them-”

 

“Animals?! Like cute kitties and puppies and goldfish and rabbits and hamsters and-”

 

“Yes, exactly like that.” Hoya cut in. Dongwoo’s face lit up and he bounded off the bed.

 

“Thank you Okami-san! Thank you! Thank you!” He gathered Hoya in his arms and jumped up and down. Hoya could only jump along with the excited alien, trying not to allow a smile to crack across his own face. Dongwoo’s happiness was infectious and Hoya couldn’t help but feel a sense of achievement at bringing that smile back to the pink haired man. He didn’t even reprimand Dongwoo for stroking his hair.

 

”Did you tell him?” A new voice cut in and Dongwoo released Hoya and ran to the newcomer.

 

“Oh Kirin-chan, we’re going to have so much fun!” He shouted, grabbing Sungyeol’s hands and bouncing excitedly on the spot. Sungyeol joined in the bouncing and Hoya watched amusedly for  while, a faint smile on his face as he caught the pure joy in Dongwoo’s sparkling eyes. When he realised that he was staring, he shook himself out of his trance.

 

“I’m going in to the office.” He interrupted, causing Dongwoo and Sungyeol to stop jumping. “I’ll have my personal phone. Call me if there are any issues. And I mean any issues.” He demanded and Sungyeol nodded with a salute for good measure.

 

“I will, I swear!” He agreed and Hoya nodded sternly, before forcing himself away. He reminded himself that there was no use worrying, that Sungyeol would keep Dongwoo safe and this would placate the alien for a while, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking over his shoulder as he left the room and studying Dongwoo’s form, ingraining it into his memory so that he would notice if he came back in anything other than that exact condition.

 

Purely because he was the alien’s ambassador, nothing else.

 

A/N: So maybe the pink haired wonder is having a bigger impact on Hoya than he expected.

  
Hoya couldn’t be immune to the happy virus for long!  
So Dongwoo finally is able to leave the confines of Hoya’s mansion, and he gets to go play with Sungyeol at work! He’s definitely super thankful to his Okami-san!  
  
We hope you like it so far! Drop us a comment and let us know what you think!  
See you next time!  
♡ Jade & Ray


	4. four.

Dongwoo followed Sungyeol obediently to the garage, cawing appreciately at the sleek design of the row of expensive sports cars.

 

“They are all so pretty and wooow! Do I get to drive one?!” He asked, his fingers running over the smooth exterior of the nearest vehicle.

 

Sungyeol shook his head. “You’d get in trouble if you got behind the wheel, but you can ride right in the front next to me!”

 

Dongwoo spotted a bright green one and immediately ran over to it, jumping up and down to signify his desire for the vehicle. “Oh! I love this one!”

 

“That is a Nissan GT-R, it can go almost 200 miles per hour! I’m sure that is no where near how fast your spaceship could go, but for Earth it’s pretty fast!”

 

“Can we take this one to your job, pleaseeee?” Dongwoo begged, clasping his hands in front of his chest.

 

Sungyeol looked a little skeptical. “That particular car is one of Hoya’s favorites... but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind letting me use it for today!” He skipped back over near the garage door, plucking off a set of keys from the wall that corresponded with the car in question. He unlocked the doors with the remote as he walked back over to the green vehicle.

 

“Will Okami-san get mad at us?” Dongwoo worried his lip, his hand hesitating over the handle.

 

“Of course not, I don’t think Okami-san could ever get mad at you.” Sungyeol teased, but Dongwoo simply smiled, not getting the insinuation. “But lets just pretend this whole car thing was your idea, just in case.”

 

“Yay! Okay! Can we go? This is my first time in an Earth car and I’m so excited! On Mato, we have hovercrafts, so I bet it’s so different to ride in an automobile where the wheels meet the ground.”

 

“Trust me, it’s nothing impressive.” Sungyeol muttered, urging Dongwoo to follow his lead and climb inside the car.

 

But Dongwoo begged to differ. He spent the whole ride to work squealing happily over the bounciness of the car, clapping his hands excitedly when they went over speed bumps and shouting “whee” as they did turns and Sungyeol couldn’t help but spend the whole journey feeling like some pro driver because of the reaction he was getting.

 

When they did finally arrive at Sungyeol’s workplace, Dongwoo was disappointed that the journey was over, but he climbed out of the car when Sungyeol opened the door for him - struggling with the seatbelt as he tried to get out - and looked up at the building in front of him. It was small, painted white with a large sign saying “Companion Care” over the door.

 

“Is this where Kirin-chan works?” Dongwoo asked, looking at the place in wonder.

 

Sungyeol nodded proudly. “This is my very own clinic.” He announced, strolling over to the door and unlocking it quickly. “This is the reception.” He introduced. “And those are the treatment rooms.” He pointed to two doors leading out from the reception. “Out back are the kennels, where we keep recovering animals until they are ready to go home. I’ll show you them when I have time, but right now I need to open up. My first appointment is at 9:00am and that gives us fifteen minutes to set up to be ready to open for business!”

 

Dongwoo looked around the room in awe. “You mean that in fifteen minutes I get to meet all the cute animals?”

 

“Yes!” Sungyeol nodded, “But I need you to promise that you’ll just watch and you won’t try to get involved.”

 

“Can I talk to the animals?” Dongwoo asked innocently and Sungyeol nodded.

 

“Of course.” Sungyeol smiled, deciding to humor him. “But the treatment is my job, so just leave that up to me, okay? I’m fully trained.”

 

Dongwoo smiled. “I’ll just sit here and be good and make all of the kawaii animals happy!”

 

Sungyeol just grinned, heading over to the computer to switch it on and looking through his list of appointments. “I have a few regulars in today, I think it’s going to be an easy day.”

 

Dongwoo bit his lip. “So what should I do?”

 

“Just be careful, don’t pick up anything without asking me first, and keep me company! It’s not going to be too busy, so we can just hang out and talk while I wait for patients!”

 

As Sungyeol had predicted, the morning wasn’t that busy. Dongwoo just sat behind the reception desk, greeting the animals as they came in and making Sungyeol and the owners laugh. The pets seemed to speak back to Dongwoo, which had Sungyeol in fits of giggles and the alien beaming with happiness. At 9:00 there was the puppy with the toothache, at 10:00 there was the hamster who wouldn’t stop running on his exercise wheel, at 11:00 there was the turtle who wouldn’t come out of his shell, and by noon a lizard who wasn’t quite content with her owner’s choice in the location of her cage (all she wanted was to be placed by the window!). Dongwoo did his best to help out, offering suggestions without getting in Sungyeol’s way when he was examining the pets.

 

“You really have a way with animals.” Sungyeol commended on his lunch break and Dongwoo simply grinned. “No seriously, you seem to make animals happy. It’s like you can speak to them or something.”

 

“I can.” Dongwoo simply replied.

 

Sungyeol’s mouth opened wide, “You can speak to animals?!”

 

“I told you that when we got here! I’ve already explained that we Matoki are gifted with languages.” Dongwoo shrugged as if they were simply discussing the weather.

 

“That includes animals?!”

 

“Well of course. Why wouldn’t it?” Dongwoo was surprised that Sungyeol was shocked.

 

Sungyeol simply shook his head, abandoning the conversation and concentrating on his lunch once again. Even after spending a week with the alien, Dongwoo was still managing to surprise him in the most bizarre of ways.

 

Dongwoo’s powers in languages didn’t simply extend to animals and spoken languages either, it turned out that the alien had an uncanny ability to read body language as well, as exhibited in Sungyeol’s first customer after lunch.

 

It all started with a dark haired man stepping through the clinic doors. Sungyeol was cleaning the treatment room, and he had left Dongwoo to tend the reception. He hadn’t expected any patients to turn up so he had left Dongwoo out front so he could get a head start on the cleaning - and maybe he wanted to keep the alien away from the cleaning chemicals - he didn’t think his brother would be too happy if there were any accidents.

 

Dongwoo didn’t mind being left alone, he got to play in a rather amusing spinning chair behind the reception. He urged Sungyeol to move along with his day as normal, promising to keep a faithful eye on the front of the shop. Dongwoo was turning in circles gleefully when the bell jingled, signalling that a new customer had walked in.

 

“I’m sorry, the clinic is closed until after 1pm.” Dongwoo sang out, repeating the words that Sungyeol had drilled into him when he had left the alien alone to tend the front desk.  

 

The man just blinked in surprise at Dongwoo’s presence, before speaking hesitantly. “H… Hi? I’m here to… er... see Sungyeol… about my cat, I mean…”

 

“Oh! I thought we didn’t have any appointments until later!”

 

This seemed to make the man more distressed, his arms holding his cat tighter to his body. “I don’t… exactly have an appointment. I just thought that maybe Sungyeol could take a look for me, but he isn’t here so-”

 

“Kirin-chan is just cleaning the treatment rooms! I can get him, if you’d like…” Dongwoo replied. The man shook his head vehemently.

 

“No, no. I can wait. I’m sure he’s very busy and I should have called.”

 

Dongwoo’s momentum was winding down, and he finally stopped his spinning to give his full attention the customer. He blinked away the dizziness, focusing on the man in front of him. Dongwoo couldn’t help but notice the customer’s nerves, the man’s hands stroking a rather gorgeous kitten that he was holding in his arms. He dragged his eyes away from the adorable feline, all the way up to the man’s face.

 

“Oh! I know you! You work for Okami-san!” He immediately jumped up from his seat, coming around the desk to smile widely at the newcomer.

 

“I think you might be mistaken-”

 

“No, I remember! You always brought Okami-san lots of that boring paperwork last week since he couldn’t leave for the office!” Dongwoo corrected him, but the man didn’t look any less confused. Dongwoo’s eyes went back to the pretty black cat, and his fingers were just itching to play with it. “I’m sorry but- can I touch it? It looks so… fluffy.”

 

The man followed Dongwoo’s line of sight to his pet. “Sure.” Dongwoo practically squealed, reaching out to rub between the precious being’s ears. The fur was so soft under his fingertips, a beautiful midnight black, and this kitten was the definition of kawaii.

 

His owner could sense Dongwoo’s enthusiasm, moving a bit closer so Dongwoo could continue to pet the cat. “Her name is Luna.”

 

“Luna! What a wonderful name! Have you borrowed her from Usagi-chan? But why are her eyes green? And what happened to her moon tattoo?” Dongwoo asked the questions rapid fire, confusing the customer more with each second.

 

“I’m not sure-”

 

“Dongwoo, who are you talking to out there?” A voice called out from the back, and Dongwoo reluctantly let go of the feline to return to his post behind the desk.

 

“It’s the man that brings Okami-san all of the paperwork. He brought his super cute kitty Luna-chan!” He announced to Sungyeol as the veterinarian stepped out of the treatment room.

 

Sungyeol appeared flustered as he stepped forward to the desk, his hands smoothing down his white coat. “Myungsoo-sshi. What brings you here today?”

 

“Oh. Erm… Sungyeol-sshi. Hi…” He started, before falling silent again. When he noticed that Sungyeol was waiting for him to continue he opened his mouth again. “It… It’s Luna…” The brunette started, “I got home at lunch time today to find that she hadn’t eaten any of the food that I left her… I was hoping… maybe you could take a look at her, but if you’re busy-”

 

“Of course I will!” Sungyeol interrupted. “I mean, Luna is one of my favorite kittens and I can always make time for her.” Dongwoo thought it was rather curious that Sungyeol was staring at the owner instead of the cat while he was talking. “I’m not busy at all, so I’ll check her in straight away…”

 

Dongwoo’s eyes darted between the two men, taking note of the way that they both tensed up at each other’s voices. Luna’s owner had been skittish from the second he stepped through the clinic’s doors and Sungyeol had turned a rather adorable shade of pink as soon as he saw the customer. A secret smile crept onto Dongwoo’s face as he watched the two of them interact, he couldn’t wait to get Sungyeol alone to talk with him about the cute boy and his even cuter kitty.

 

The bubbly alien watched as Sungyeol reached out for Luna - blushing even brighter when his hands accidentally brushed against Myungsoo’s in the process - he laid her down right there on the counter. He pulled a stethoscope out of his pockets and laid it against Luna’s chest, listening carefully. He moved it around the kitten’s body, listening at different spots, his bright eyes closed in concentration.

 

Dongwoo couldn’t help but notice the way that Myungsoo watched his best friend intensely. “Well, she’s breathing fine and her heart rate is normal.” Sungyeol said, pulling the stethoscope away with a confused expression. “Was it just her eating that was an issue? You haven’t changed her diet or anything lately?”

 

“No...” Myungsoo replied cautiously, “She honestly wasn’t eating well, and I’ve been giving Luna her favorite Fancy Feast.”

 

Sungyeol’s lip twisted as he stared at the black cat. She seemed perfectly happy, but it was his job to ensure that nothing was wrong, especially if Myungsoo was asking for his help. ”Let me check her out properly. I just need to grab a few extra things.”

 

Before he could move away Myungsoo reached out, holding his wrist with a delicate touch. “Thank you Sungyeol-sshi. Really.” He looked deeply into the Sungyeol’s eyes, smiling at the concern he found inside of them.

 

Sungyeol grinned back at him, one of his fingers twirling around a lock of his hair as he told the other it was no problem. Myungsoo let go of his arm, repeating his thank you’s that only seemed to make Sungyeol more unsettled.

 

Dongwoo watched as Sungyeol headed to the back room, hiding behind his brown bangs to conceal his blush as much as possible. He noticed Myungsoo’s gaze trained on Sungyeol until they door had closed behind the vet, the look of longing clear in his eyes.

 

“They so like each other.” Even the purrs sounded exasperated, and Dongwoo glanced over to see the cat’s mouth moving. Luna noticed his attention on her, and gave him a nonchalant look in response. “What? It’s like sooo obvious. Sparkly Eyes keeps bringing me here and complaining about me being unwell. I mean, look at me; with my luxurious fur and graceful aura, I’m practically the picture of health. Any human with eyes could see that I’m a perfectly happy cat.” She licked her front paw lazily. “Could he be any more transparent?”

 

“What do you mean?” Dongwoo replied, his own purrs coming out naturally as he leaned down to get closer to the feline’s level.

 

“Can you believe that I was in the middle of my regularly scheduled afternoon cat nap, and Sparkly Eyes shows up just to rudely wake me up from my lovely slumber?” The cat meowed, her tail twitching in annoyance. “I am so tired of being dragged here for stupid made up reasons just so Sparkly Eyes can see Pretty Vet. They should just sort their stuff out and confess already.” The cat complained, her front legs stretching out as she yawned, her behind in the air. “All this acting is soooo exhausting, and this is cutting into my beauty sleep.”

 

Dongwoo’s eyes moved up to land on Myungsoo, who was stroking Luna absentmindedly as he stared at the door, still waiting for Sungyeol to reappear again. “Wah, they are so cuuuuute! I need to make them a couple!” The alien was practically bouncing in excitement.

 

Luna wrinkled her nose in discontent. “My pink friend.” Dongwoo’s smile grew. “Trust me, they are going to need more than a push. They both turn into blithering messes around each other. It’s embarrassing the ways humans court each other, really.”

 

Dongwoo just grinned, scratching underneath her chin. “I think it’s adorable.”

 

Before Luna could reply with another sarcastic feline comment, their conversation was interrupted by a cough. Dongwoo looked up to see Sungyeol and Myungsoo looking down at him curiously.

 

“What are you doing?” Sungyeol asked, glancing between Dongwoo and Luna bemusedly.

 

Dongwoo beamed. “Me and Luna-chan were talking, but I’m not telling you what we were talking about.” He tapped his nose cheekily with a giggle.

 

Myungsoo’s eyes raised in surprise at Dongwoo’s answer and Sungyeol hurriedly responded, turning to Myungsoo. “Oh, just ignore him! He’s a little childish but….”

 

“It’s funny, it’s like they were having a conversation…” Myungsoo mused.

 

Sungyeol’s eyes widened. “No! That would be preposterous!” He protested. “How could he possibly be talking to your cat.”

 

“But Kirin-chan…” Dongwoo started. “I was talking to her-” Sungyeol cut him off with a not so subtle glare and Myungsoo chuckled.

 

“I wasn’t actually suggesting that your receptionist was speaking to my Luna. ” Sungyeol colored at Myungsoo’s light teasing. “Though it is curious, she did seem to perk up when he started purring at her. It’s odd, because she isn’t usually good with people, except for me I guess… and you…”

 

Sungyeol fumbled for words. “I guess he’s just good with animals… And I’m her vet so she has to like me, right?” He attempted, smiling weakly to try and solidify his point. He had noticed that it looked like Dongwoo was speaking to the cat, and whilst he found it extremely exciting that Dongwoo might be able to talk to animals, he didn’t want to scare Myungsoo away if he found that out. “Anyway, I’ll get started on checking her out...” He quickly changed the subject.

 

“Oh, yay.” Luna purred lowly and Dongwoo chuckled. “He had better give me more treats after this. And none of those cheap bargain price biscuits. I am demanding fresh tuna and cream tonight. Not that Sparkly Eyes can even understand a word I say. He does pamper me for my supreme acting skills though, which is the only reason I allow him to bring me here on such a regular basis.”

 

Myungsoo and Dongwoo watched as the vet got to work, explaining quietly what he was doing as he did it. His hands gently probed areas of Luna’s body to see if the cat showed any signs of pain or discomfort and then checking the cat’s mouth for any signs of any problems there. He rubbed the underbelly of the cat, checking for any signs of internal injury or swelling. Luna just lay there, a bored expression on her face as she allowed herself to be subjected to such an unnecessary routine.

 

Dongwoo’s eyes moved up to Luna’s owner, whose eyes were following Sungyeol’s every moment, moving from the look of concentration on Sungyeol’s face to his hands, which were skillfully running over Luna’s fur. Dongwoo stifled a giggle behind his hand, his intuition was telling him that Myungsoo and Sungyeol were in love with each other, and he found the whole situation very interesting. On Mato, when two people liked each other it was only natural for them to admit it, since that was the honest thing to do. This concept of liking someone secretly, finding excuses to visit them but not confessing, rather intrigued Dongwoo.

 

Sungyeol pulled the thermometer out of Luna’s mouth, looking at the temperature with a relieved expression. “Well, it looks like Luna is getting a clean bill of health today! I’m happy to say that everything looks normal with her. Cats are independent animals… Luna will eat when she is ready, so just be patient with her.” He ran a soothing hand down her spine, giving the feline an affectionate pat.

 

Myungsoo smiled as he pulled Luna back into his arms. “I’m glad to hear that.” He said. “Thank you, Sungyeol-sshi. You’re always so helpful…”

 

“It’s the least I can do, you work so hard for my brother even though he is a monster to work for.” Sungyeol grinned, before looking down at his feet and adding quietly. “Plus it’s always nice to see you… and Luna… You know I’m here for her anytime.”

 

Dongwoo could see Myungsoo’s smile tugging at the corner of his lips as his eyes sparkled. “You’re so nice, Sungyeol-sshi.”

 

Sungyeol appeared flustered at the compliment and he turned his attentions away from Myungsoo to Luna. “You were so good for me today, so let me give you a reward.” Pulling a pet treat out of his pocket. He held his hand out, allowing the cat to nibble from his palm. “I bought in some special treats just for you, I know you have exquisite taste.”

 

Luna swallowed the treat and then meowed contently. “At least Sparkly Eyes has good choice in men, I wouldn’t mind him taking my owner’s attention as long as he brings treats every time and pets me a lot. He’s really good with his hands.”  

 

“I want to make them be together.” Dongwoo purred back.

 

“We can make this happen…” The cat replied, flicking her tail. Dongwoo chuckled and she meowed back, sharing a moment of secrecy.

 

“He’s doing that thing again…” Myungsoo whispered.

 

Sungyeol just shook his head. “Ignore him…” He glanced at Dongwoo, who was giggling at the cat, and then he glanced at Luna who almost looked to be smiling back at him.

 

Myungsoo nodded. “So, how much do I owe you for the check-up?”

 

“Nothing!” Sungyeol protested. “Honestly, I’ve already told you… it’s always a pleasure to see you- I mean Luna!”

 

“Well, I know that she likes visiting you as well.” Myungsoo replied, causing Luna to begin meowing again.

 

“What I really like is sleep. I wish he wouldn’t speak for me that way.”

 

“Oh, I think she’s getting a bit cranky!” Myungsoo laughed, “I should take her home now.”

 

“He’s doing it again! Though at least this time he is correct.”

 

“I’ll see you soon! I mean, maybe? I guess? Erm… I guess just… goodbye!” Myungsoo stuttered, before spinning around and hurrying out of the clinic.

 

“Bye Luna, bye Myungsoo-sshi!” Sungyeol called behind them.

  
Dongwoo waved goodbye, watching as Myungsoo paused outside the sliding doors to press his lips to Luna’s head. He beamed at the sight.

 

“Cuuuuuuuute!” He remarked. Sungyeol followed Dongwoo’s gaze and his eyes narrowed.

 

“Who are you calling cute?” He muttered.

 

Dongwoo just spun to face the vet. “Don’t you think that they are cute as well?“

 

Sungyeol’s face turned pink as he spluttered his denial. “I… No… What… Why would you say that?”

 

“Just that you seemed to like Luna-chan a lot, that’s all...” Dongwoo laughed as he skipped out of range. “Annnnnnd her owner!”

 

The blush deepened on Sungyeol’s face and Dongwoo laughed, avoiding a swat from Sungyeol’s gangly arms before the vet pulled back with a huff.

 

Dongwoo knew that he wasn’t really annoyed though, because Sungyeol still had a smile on his face as he watched Myungsoo walk away. A smile that remained on the vet’s face for the rest of the day.

 

 

 

A/N: We promised you Myungyeol and here is the start of it! Aren’t they soooo cute together?  


Happy cat looks happy.  
Jade’s favorite character in this chapter is Myungsoo’s cat Luna (did everyone get the Sailor Moon reference?)  


(basically what Soo looks like whenever Yeol talks to him)

Also, are you guys starting to see the meaning behind the title now? It’s allllll becoming clear.

 

Okay, enough of that. Let us know what you think in the comments and stay tuned for the next update!

  
Jade & Ray


	5. five.

Hoya shifted back in his chair, setting aside a file of completed documents, only to begin another. Sometimes he wished that he had gone into a profession that required less paperwork, but he liked being his own boss too much to give up his current position. Even if he was motivated to keep reading through contracts and sales projections, he couldn’t stop the sigh of relief from escaping his mouth when his assistant came through the door.

 

“Myungsoo, good to see you.”

 

The black haired man bowed slightly in acknowledgement, pulling up a chair to get comfortable as he grabbed the file on top of the stack in front of Hoya. “Sorry lunch ran a little late, I had to run a quick errand.” He flipped open the document in front of him, grabbing a pen from the center of the table to start making his notes.

 

His pen had barely touched the paper when Hoya spoke up again. “Anything exciting?” Myungsoo looked at his boss curiously, he definitely wasn’t the type to like to sit around and gossip. Hoya noticed his expression, laughing kindly. “I ended up eating lunch in my office so I could finish going over the files from the Busan branch, so I could use a small break.”

 

Myungsoo nodded in understanding, setting down the file in his lap to regard the older man. “Actually, I went to see your brother.”

  
“Oh?” He asked, interested that his co-worker would need to see his younger brother. “I wasn’t aware that you two were close?”

 

His assistant colored at that, shaking his head at the insinuation. “No, we aren’t close. We just, um, we met actually awhile back, it’s nothing like-”

 

“Myungsoo.” Hoya’s strong voice stopped his rambling, and Myungsoo smiled sheepishly.

 

“What I was trying to say was that I met your brother at last year’s Christmas party. That’s how I found out he was a veterinarian, and I have a cat, so yeah…”

 

“A cat?”

 

“Yes, a cat.” Myungsoo repeated, suddenly seeming fidgety in his seat. “Her name is Luna. She’s pretty great.”

 

“Uh huh. So you went to see my brother because?” Hoya prompted him.

 

Myungsoo let out a sigh, shaking his head at himself for being so absentminded. “Right. Well, you see I went by my place to check in on Luna, and I noticed she hadn’t ate anything, so I thought I’d drop by Sungyeol-sshi’s clinic just to make sure everything was in order.”

 

“Sungyeol-sshi?” Hearing his brother’s name that way was foreign to him.

 

“Yes, Sungyeol-sshi is actually very nice. He worked me in without an appointment and everything. Your brother is really a great person.”

 

Hoya quirked an eyebrow at the way his assistant talked about his younger brother. “My brother is many things, but even I can’t deny that kindness is one of his strong suits. He loves his work, so I’m sure it wasn’t too much of a bother.”

 

“He was actually very understanding, he probably just looked at Luna since he knows I work for you. But either way, I’m very thankful. And Luna got a clean bill of health, so everything worked out.”

 

Hoya smiled politely, he wasn’t too much of a pet person but he understand how much people cared about their animals. “Well I’m happy to hear that.”

 

“There was actually someone else with him today though.” Myungsoo said thoughtfully and Hoya tensed up, realizing that Sungyeol had taken a certain alien with him to the clinic.

 

“Is that so?” He asked a bit nervously, pulling a little on his tie to loosen it up.

 

“Yeah, he was definitely an interesting guy, he even had pink hair! But the weirdest part was that it actually seemed to suit him.”

“Pink hair? Sounds strange.” Hoya coughed, his fingers tapping the desk anxiously.

 

“The weird thing was that he knew who I was. He said that he saw me delivering paperwork to your house last week.” Myungsoo trailed off, and Hoya let out a nervous sigh.

 

“Oh, of course! You must be talking about Dongwoo. He is, erm, my brother’s new… apprentice. Yes! Apprentice. That’s why he is working at the clinic with Sungyeol. You see he isn’t from around here, I mean he is from here, you know. Because where else could he be from!” He laughed nervously, before continuing on. “It’s just that my brother told him that he could stay at my house, but last week he was feeling under the weather, so he wasn’t able to start his new job. So that must be how he saw you last week when you brought me my paperwork! In fact, that’s why I wasn’t at work! Because Dongwoo got me sick! That makes perfect sense.”

 

At this point Hoya wasn’t sure if he was talking to himself or Myungsoo, who seemed to be staring at him rather weirdly since his explanation had begun. But Hoya couldn’t exactly say that Dongwoo had seen him because he was sitting next to him, because then he would have to explain that the reason Myungsoo couldn’t see Dongwoo was because he was an alien who could also turn invisible at will. And that was simply a conversation he was not going to have with his assistant. “So… yes. That is why he’s at Sungyeol’s clinic now.” He finished rather lamely.

 

“He actually did the oddest thing with my cat while I was waiting on Sungyeol-”

 

“Actually, I really need to look over these files Myungsoo. Maybe we could reconvene later once I’m done looking over this contract?” Hoya cut him off with a firm tone, leaving no room for negotiation. “You can take that marketing plan with you, and report back to me when you’ve finished looking over its contents?”

 

Myungsoo stood up, taking the hint. “Of course.” He grabbed the file, heading over to the door to exit the office. He stopped in the doorway, turning back to his boss. “For what it’s worth, Dongwoo seemed really great too. Even if he was a little different.” He gave Hoya a closed lip smile, before disappearing out the office.

 

Hoya watched the door close after Myungsoo, his thoughts swirling around the pink haired alien. “You have no idea.” A curious smile spread across his face as he picked his file back off the desk, the paperwork suddenly seeming a little more bearable.

 

 

 

 

Sungyeol closed up the clinic with a relieved sigh, switching the sign to closed before locking the door and turning to Dongwoo. “So your first day at the clinic with me is officially over…”

 

“It was so fun!” Dongwoo said jubilantly, “I want to do it again tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that as well! All of the animals were so cute! I really liked the rabbit that came in because of his poor leg! I’m sure that cast will help a lot and I hope he gets better soon, he was just so friendly! And that rottweiler with the bad tooth! He seemed scary to start with but once he got talking to me he was really nice, and clever too-”

 

Dongwoo continued talking about all of the animals that had been admitted to the clinic that day as they climbed into the car, and he only paused his rambling on the way home to ask why Sungyeol was driving so fast. Whilst he was no expert on road laws here on Earth he was pretty sure that a read light meant ‘stop’, not ‘accelerate even faster and drive at eighty miles an hour, narrowly avoiding a collision with a family car that is coming the other way’.

 

“Oh, I’m just excited to get home and eat!” He told a rightfully terrified Dongwoo, but that didn’t explain the relieved sigh he let out when he parked the car up in the garage and realised that Hoya wasn’t back yet. Nor did it explain the way he rubbed his hand lightly over the sleek paintwork of the car, a melancholy expression on his face as he lightly kissed the driver door (Dongwoo was sure that was not hygienic). “It was nice whilst it lasted…” He stated wistfully, causing Dongwoo to turn to him with a curious look. Sungyeol didn’t explain though, he just hooked the keys back up and headed out of the garage, prompting Dongwoo to follow him.

 

They headed into the house, Dongwoo trailing behind Sungyeol. At first the vet didn’t notice the alien’s downhearted expression, but when he turned to say something completely stupid that he knew his extraterrestrial best friend would find hilarious he noticed that Dongwoo didn’t look as elated as he usually did.

  
“Is something the matter?” He asked. “You look sad.”

 

“Not sad… Just…” Dongwoo searched for the word. “Disappointed.”

 

Sungyeol frowned at Dongwoo’s pouty voice. “Why?”

 

“It’s just that I had so much fun today at the clinic with you… All of the animals were so cute and I got to play with them and talk to them and hang out with Kirin-chan! It was so fun….”

 

“And you were a great help. When that rottweiler came in and I couldn’t find out what was wrong with him you were able to ask him. I never would have found that little abscess on his gum and made him better… It was so useful to have you there today.” Sungyeol sighed. “Awww, now I’m sad too…”

 

“Do you think that Okami-san will ever let me come with you again?” Dongwoo asked.

 

Sungyeol thought about that for a moment, his brain playing through Hoya’s inevitable reaction to that request. He knew that his brother would be torn - he would want Dongwoo out of the way so that he could catch up on his own work, but his worry for Dongwoo would counter that. He knew that they would need to really sell the point to get his brother to agree.

 

Sungyeol nodded in determination. “I’ve got an idea.” He said, and Dongwoo cocked his head in curiosity.

 

“Ideas are fun!” He professed, and Sungyeol just smiled.

 

There was no way his brother could turn down this request. Not if he had anything to do with it.

 

Ten minutes later found the two of them in the kitchen, looking into the fridge with matching blank looks on their faces.

 

“So you think that if we cook some nice food for Okami-san, he’ll be happy and let me come in with you tomorrow?” Dongwoo affirmed the plan and Sungyeol mumbled in agreement.

 

“It’s not often that I do anything like this for him, he’ll simply have to say yes.” He stated. “Though there is one slight flaw to this plan…” Dongwoo waited for his Earthling best friend to continue. “Well… I’m not a great cook, and we don’t exactly have much in the way of groceries here…”

 

Dongwoo looked back into the fridge. Whilst he wasn’t exactly well-learned in the way of Earth food (he knew about sushi and dumplings and noodles, but not about the things in the Lee brother’s fridge), even he could tell that the selection wasn’t great. “How about chocolate stuffed peppers?” He tried. “Or maybe a wrap of spinach and that spicy salsa stuff that we had last week. Or perhaps you could chop up some banana and onion and serve it with chocolate ice cream and flour…”

 

Sungyeol shook his head at Dongwoo’s suggestions, none of which he thought Hoya would appreciate (though he did make a mental note to try that onion and flour ice cream combination one day).  “No… We need something really special…” He wracked his brains for Hoya’s favorite foods, but they were all difficult dishes; smoked salmon on alfredo fettuccini, green thai chicken curry, medium rare grilled steak and salad (no dressing). Not exactly anything Sungyeol and Dongwoo could whip up in the next hour or so.

 

He looked at the ingredients which looked semi-usable. Chicken breast, peppers, onions, mushrooms, some wraps… How could he use those to make an amazing meal that would convince Hoya to let Dongwoo stick with Sungyeol?

 

And then it came to him, it was so obvious that he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought about it sooner. Whilst Hoya had always preferred the finer cuisine, he had always had a penchant for messy, family food. One his secret favorites had always been fajitas, so fajitas it was. And if things went well, they could even celebrate with a chocolate banana split for dessert.

 

A wide grin split onto Sungyeol’s face, his plan now intact. He turned to his pink haired friend, who was waiting anxiously for instructions. “Slide on your oven mitts Dongwoo. I’ve got a plan.”

 

 

 

Hoya slid off his shoes in the foyer, locking the door behind him. The house was almost eerily quiet - which was never normal - as he made his way further in. He reached up to loosen his tie, his legs carrying him to the kitchen as if he were on autopilot. He hadn’t exactly meant to stay late at the office, but he had spent a good amount of the afternoon thinking of a certain someone instead of focusing on his work, which meant that he had to put some extra time in to make up for that fact.

 

Now, he was just very hungry. He was going to make himself some food - something quick, because he didn’t have the energy to actually cook for himself. The first thing he noticed in the kitchen was the mess and the second was a proud looking Sungyeol in the doorway.

 

“We made you dinner!” He announced, gesturing to the room behind him where an equally chuffed looking Dongwoo was seated behind a table of food. Hoya stepped curiously into the dining room, not believing what was in front of his eyes; the table was laid with seasoned chicken and vegetables, cheese and sauces. He was about to open his mouth to ask what dinner was when Sungyeol waltzed past him with a plate of warm wraps.

 

“You made fajitas?!” He exclaimed, and Sungyeol’s face lit up.

 

“Yes! It was always your favorite when Umma made them, so I thought I’d try. I don’t think they will be as good as hers though… I did call her up for help though.” Sungyeol shrugged.

 

Hoya just stared at the feast on the table. “It doesn’t matter… I’m just so amazed that you pulled this off without burning the kitchen down. I guess I can let the mess slide.” He slid into the seat opposite Dongwoo and Sungyeol slid down beside the alien. “Can I start?”

 

“Tuck in!” Sungyeol told him, grabbing a wrap himself. Hoya did the same, piling his wrap with chicken and vegetables, before adding sour cream, cheese and salsa. He folded his wrap, biting into the tasty fajita as he watched Dongwoo struggle to fold his own. He watched as the alien ‘s face switched to a pout when his filling dropped out.

 

Hoya watched this repeat for a while until even he grew frustrated. He sighed, leaning over the table to grab Dongwoo’s tortilla and gently showed him how to wrap it. The alien grinned widely as Hoya pulled his hands away and sat back into his own chair.

 

“Thank you, Okami-san!” He cheered, tucking into the lovely food in front of him. Hoya scarfed his own food down, surprised at just how hungry he really was. When he finished his first, he immediately grabbed a second tortilla and looked around the table for the fillings.

 

“Yeol, could you pass me the cheese, please?” He asked, reaching for the ceramic bowl that was just out of his arms length.

 

Dongwoo sat up at Hoya’s words, grinning widely. “It’s okay, Kirin-chan. I’ll do that!” He dropped his almost-finished fajita wrap and raised his hands. At once, the bowl of cheese raised straight into the air and floated slowly over to Hoya. Hoya couldn’t even hide his own awe as he reached out robotically and grabbed the bowl from the air.

 

“Thank you…” He said, barely paying attention to the amount of cheese he was sprinkling onto his plate.

 

Dongwoo just beamed even brighter. “It’s no problem Okami-san. Anything to help.”

 

“Speaking of Dongwoo helping-” Sungyeol interjected. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you how great he was today. He really has an affinity with animals!”

 

“Really?” Hoya asked, remembering Myungsoo’s words from earlier that afternoon.

 

Sungyeol nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! He really helped me out a lot. It makes me sad to think that he can’t come in to help me again…” Sungyeol tried to approach the subject tactfully, but Dongwoo had different ideas.

 

“Please can I go in to work with Kirin-chan again tomorrow? And the day after that? And the day after that one too? Pretty please? I want to see all the different cute animals and help Kirin-chan make them not sick anymore. Pleeeease?” He begged.

 

Sungyeol laughed warmly. “Dongwoo, you can’t come with me every single day!’

“But why? I thought Kirin-chan liked working with me!”

 

“It’s not that I don’t want you to come to work with me silly, I just thought that you would want to start figuring out how you were going to get to Japan!” He turned to look at his older brother, who suddenly looked downcast. “Hyung?”

 

“What?” Hoya said distractedly, his thoughts centered on the idea of the alien leaving.

 

“You just look upset hyung. I promise that I took care of everything at work today, Dongwoo didn’t get into any accidents or cause any trouble…” Sungyeol tried to explain.

 

“Really, Okami-san! I helped lots of adorable animals and I made their owners really happy!” Dongwoo said smugly.

 

“I’m sure you did Dongwoo, but what Sungyeol said is true. I did promise you that I’d help you get to Japan. So I need to honor that.” Hoya wasn’t quite sure why the words felt wrong coming out of his mouth.

 

“Well, you’re my best friend Dongwoo, so I can pay for your plane ticket! I know you don’t have any Earth money, and it can actually be really confusing because Korean money is different than Japanese money but I’ll give you whatever extra I have!”

 

“Oh, thanks Kirin-chan! You’re so kind-”

 

“No, don’t be ridiculous.” Hoya interrupted them, cleaning off his hands and dropping his napkin. “It only makes sense that I cover any of the expenses. I don’t want you using any of your savings Sungyeol, especially when it’s no problem for me to afford it.”

 

“Actually, what I was going to say before Okami-san interrupted, was that I couldn’t accept your offer for money. Or Okami-san’s for that matter. I know that it is very nice of both of you to offer to help me reach Japan, but I can’t accept such a big of a gift, without giving anything in return.”

 

“Seriously Dongwoo, don’t worry about it! Hyung’s rich, paying for a little trip to Japan is nothing! His bank account won’t even notice the difference!” When Hoya glared at him Sungyeol suddenly stopped talking, looking down at his suddenly interesting plate.

 

Hoya rolled his eyes at his younger brother, before looking at Dongwoo sincerely. “He’s telling the truth Dongwoo, it’s no problem for me to pay for your trip. I’m your ambassador, right? Then that makes it my job to help you get to the place on Earth that you want to go. Once you’re more… acclimated to your surroundings, I can get you to Japan.”

 

Dongwoo stood up from his seat, walking over to sit next to Hoya on the other side of the table. “Okami-san, your generosity is more than I could ever ask for. But even if I wanted to accept, I’m not allowed to. As my ambassador you are supposed to help me get accustomed to the planet, but you aren’t supposed to do everything for me. If I don’t learn how to take care of myself, then how will I survive in Japan? I have to figure out how this planet works, and the only way I can do that is to stay here with you and Kirin-chan.”

 

“What if… Dongwoo keeps coming to work with me?” Hoya and Dongwoo turned to the younger man, who shifted under their stares. “Well, Dongwoo can’t just accept our money. But if he works with me at the clinic, it can almost be like he has a real job. He’s extremely useful when helping me with my patients, so it’s not like he isn’t qualified or I’m giving him a hand out. He can learn to be on a schedule, it’s a safe place to interact with other Earthlings, come on, it’s kind of perfect!”

 

Hoya leaned back in his seat, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “You could teach him how to keep a timecard and I’ll pay his salary every week. I can just set up an additional bank account for him since he doesn’t have any documents or personal identification.”

 

“But I did have my intergalatic passport! It wasn’t fireproof though, so it perished in my spaceship.” Dongwoo looked sad at the mention of his doomed spacecraft, looking upwards in a gesture of remembrance.

 

“Anyway, I can look up an apartment in Japan, figure out how much a security deposit and rent will be. I can calculate how much the trip will cost with airfare and come up with a target number.”

 

“Yeah, and then each week we can see how much closer you are to saving up enough money to travel! Come on Dongwoo, what do you say? This way we get to hang out with each other as much as possible before you have to leave, and you aren’t breaking any rules!”

 

The pink haired man bit his lip, his head nodding slowly. “Actually, when I really think about it…” His face split into a blinding grin. “I think this will be so much fun! I will work with Kirin-chan during the day, and at night learn all about Earth from Okami-san! I’m so happy!”

 

He suddenly enveloped Hoya in a hug, who has too shocked by the sudden embrace to respond. It only lasted for a second before the alien moved on to his younger brother, jumping up and down with Sungyeol in pure elation.

 

“Alright, alright. That’s enough. Sit down and eat before your food gets cold.” Hoya ordered, and with one last squeeze the two boys let go of each other. The rest of dinner was filled with lighthearted chatter between his brother and his unexpected guest, excited predictions of all the fun they could have with the animals who could potentially arrive at the clinic. And even though it was slightly ridiculous and getting more farfetched by the minute - he seriously doubted that Sungyeol would ever treat an elephant or a tiger - he couldn’t help but laugh along with them.

 

 

 

 

“I really don’t know why you insist that we wash and dry by hand when we have a dishwasher..” Sungyeol commented as he grabbed a dishcloth. Hoya just glared at him.

 

“There’s only the two of us, it’s not like we make that many dirty dishes.” He passed a clean plate to Sungyeol, who grabbed the plate and began to dry it.

 

“Well there is three of us now…” Sungyeol commented. “With Dongwoo here. Though I guess I shouldn’t get too used to him being around, he’ll be going off to Japan in no time…”

 

Hoya sighed. “Don’t.” He placed the sponge down and turned to glare at Sungyeol. “Dongwoo wants to go to Japan, so we need to let him live his dream.”

 

“We?” Sungyeol interrupted. “Lee Howon, one might begin to think that you like having that alien around. You almost sound reluctant to let him go.”

 

“No!” Hoya interjected. “No! I’m just… getting slightly more used to him being around, making a mess of things and being loud and hyper. It will just be weird when he leaves, that’s all. I’ve just become accustomed to him - despite his annoying ways, he’s actually pretty likeable when you overlook the ridiculousness of his existence.” Hoya smiled faintly, remembering his bizarre first meeting with Dongwoo. “I guess he’s just that type of person… Even Myungsoo seemed to take a liking to Dongwoo.”

 

“Myungsoo?” Sungyeol asked, completely forgetting to act cool at the name of his crush. “Myungsoo likes Dongwoo?”

 

“Not like that you dolt. Why are you suddenly so interested anyway?” Hoya asked, his eyes taking in Sungyeol’s suddenly very alert expression. He noted the way that his brother relaxed and turned away nonchalantly before replying.

 

“No reason… Just that he came into the clinic earlier and met Dongwoo so I was wondering what he said…” He trailed off and turned back to the growing pile of suddy plates in front of him.

 

Hoya just watched his brother bemusedly. “Yeah right. You’re not fooling me at all…”

 

“W… What? I don’t know what you mean!” Sungyeol stuttered, looking away from his jeering brother and those eagle eyes.

 

Hoya simply raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, I won’t utter a single word to my dear assistant.”

 

Sungyeol’s face colored and he couldn’t help himself from whipping the dishcloth at his brother. “Sh… Shut up!”

 

Hoya laughed and jumped away from the makeshift weapon, his face cracking into a rare smile. He allowed himself this moment to have fun with his little brother, knowing that when he came down he would have to deal with the fact that Dongwoo would be leaving soon. That was a thought that sent a shiver of sadness through his whole being, and Hoya didn’t even know why.

 

 

 

A/N: Jade wishes there was a gif of Hoya helping Dongwoo wrap a tortilla for moments like this, but it is weirdly specific, so unfortunately there is not. Isn’t it an adorable image to have though?!

 

Look at the little inklings of feelings shining through! How adorable is that? EVERYTHING IS ADORABLE GAH THIS FIC! (Jade is having a mental breakdown).

Seriously though, we really hope that you are enjoying this crack/fluff/i-don’t-even-know! Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!

  
♡ Jade & Ray


	6. six.

A month passed of Dongwoo accompanying Sungyeol to Companion Care. Every morning, the pair went into work; Dongwoo spent the day helping Sungyeol with the animals, often using his ability to communicate with them to help the vet diagnose the issues. In the evenings, they would eat with Hoya and then do something fun together, like watch movies or go out for ice cream. Dongwoo had become accustomed to the routine and, as much as Hoya hated to admit it, he too had found himself looking forward to his time with the alien and Sungyeol.

 

They had done all the calculations and worked out how much money Dongwoo needed to earn for his trip to Japan, and surprisingly it wasn’t as much as anybody had expected. After the first month, Dongwoo had saved up a substantial amount of the money that he needed. The look of excitement on his face after he saw his first month’s savings was so great that Hoya felt guilty for being a little sad. Dongwoo’s presence brought a new life to the large house and as the time passed, he was becoming more downhearted at the knowledge that it was only temporary.

 

Even his relationship with his brother had improved; he and Sungyeol had never been particularly close. It wasn’t like they didn’t like it each other, it was just that they didn’t have the same sort of interests. But now that Dongwoo was in the house, a sort of connection had sprung up between them. The alien had broken down that wall between the two brothers, and now they got along better than ever.

 

It was nice to be able to just relax with other people, to just have fun without worrying about his image or reputation. Most of Hoya’s acquaintances over the past couple of years were primarily interested in him because of his business. But with Sungyeol and Dongwoo, it wasn’t like that at all. They simply enjoyed each other’s company, and that was more refreshing than Hoya had ever realized.

 

His office door clicked open, his assistant walking in with a slight bounce in his steps. “Someone’s in a good mood this morning.” His eyes ran over the pristine black suit, the splash of color around his neck complimenting the look. “Nice tie, by the way.”

 

Myungsoo reached up to touch the pink patterned fabric subconsciously. “Thanks. They say that pink accents are the trend these days.”

 

“I see.” Hoya answered, trying to fight the knowing smile on his face. “You know, my brother’s favorite color is pink.”

 

The black haired man coughed, grabbing one of the water bottles from the side of Hoya’s desk. “Really? That’s interesting.” He took a swig of the water nervously.

 

“You look a little more dressed up today than normal. Is there an occasion?” Myungsoo visibly shifted in his seat, and Hoya had to hide his grin behind his hand. He knew exactly why Myungsoo was dressed up today - in a pink tie no less - but it was rather amusing to see him squirm.

 

“No reason at all! I just wanted to give my new tie a try.”

 

“Hmm. I could of sworn that you were going to visit my brother. Isn’t Luna’s check up today?”

 

Myungsoo’s cheeks colored. “Oh, of course. It must have just… slipped my mind! It’s a good thing you reminded me, I’m sure Sungyeol-sshi would have been upset with me if I missed the appointment.”

  
“Sungyeol-sshi? Hmm.” Hoya made a show of stroking his chin, as if he was deep in thought.

 

The younger’s eyes widened. “W-what?”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just thought that you two were a little closer than that, on more friendly terms.”

 

“Friendly?” Myungsoo laughed awkwardly, slapping his thigh. “I mean, he’s very nice but it’s not like we’ve ever spent time together alone or anything. I don’t even remember the last time I saw your brother-”

 

“I could have sworn Dongwoo told me that you dropped some cupcakes off by the clinic a couple days ago…”

 

Myungsoo sputtered. “That… was just, well you see… I had a client!”

 

“A client.” Hoya deadpanned.

 

“Yes! A client. That I was going to give some cupcakes as a gesture of goodwill for being so loyal to your company. But it turned out that they were allergic to…” His eyes darted around the room, landing on the protein bar on Hoya’s desk. “Chocolate!”

 

“Isn’t that an unfortunate turn of events.”

 

“Exactly! I mean, can you imagine being allergic to chocolate? And well, erm, I couldn’t just let the cupcakes go to waste. And I couldn’t take them home, because you know how dangerous chocolate is for cats. So I just figured that I’d drop them off at the clinic. It was just a completely coincidental situation! I mean, it’s not like I went to a bakery and bought cupcakes just for your brother because I know he loves chocolate! That would be ridiculous!”

 

“Wouldn’t it?”

 

“It would. So yeah. That totally would never happen.” Myungsoo concluded, crossing his arms resolutely.

 

Hoya had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. The two of them looked at each other in silence, Myungsoo clearly feeling uncomfortable under Hoya’s knowing stare. “Well, as much as I’d love to stay and chat, I’ve got to get cracking with that client! I’ll have to figure out a new way to say thank you since those chocolate cupcakes didn’t do the trick!”

 

He abruptly stood from his seat, bowing to Hoya. “I’ll be hard at work in the conference room, because I take our customer relations very seriously.” He accidentally ran into the chair while he was backing away, knocking it over. Hoya watched with raised eyebrows as Myungsoo put it back into place with his cheeks burning. “Sorry about that! I guess I should pay more attention to my surroundings!” He bowed again before reaching back for the door. “Well, I’ll be going! And I’m taking a late lunch to go visit your brother. Not for me! For my cat. Because Luna needs her check up. Seeing your brother is just a side effect. It’s not like I’m going to the clinic just to see Sungyeol-sshi.” He got a sort of wistful look on his face after saying the name, but he shook his head abruptly to try to rid himself of it. “Not that there’s anything wrong with him. He’s basically perfect. As a vet! It’s not like I know him well enough as a person to say he’s perfect, you know.” He squawked at an embarrassing pitch, his laughter clearly forced. “So… bye!” Myungsoo practically ran from Hoya’s office, shutting the door firmly behind him.

 

Hoya finally let his own laughter burst through, his smitten assistant almost embarrassingly transparent. He picked up his pen to return his attention back to his files, a grin spreading across his face. “Oh, Myungsoo. If only you knew that Sungyeol has it just as bad for you.”

 

 

 

 

 

Dongwoo leaned against the wall during their lunch break, watching Sungyeol log into the computer to look over the afternoon’s appointments; it wasn’t as if they really needed to check. Dongwoo knew of one particular appointment for that day, and judging by the extra ten minutes that Sungyeol had spent on his hair that morning, the vet did as well. Still, he couldn’t help but bring it up in conversation, just because he loved the way his best friend colored at a certain name.

 

“So, today is the day that Luna-chan comes in to see us again!” He exclaimed. “And that means that you get to see Neko-chan as well!”

 

“Neko-chan?” Sungyeol asked, turning to face Dongwoo.

 

The alien giggled. “Myungsoo! He looks just like his kitty with all that black hair, he’s so cute and cuddly and-”

 

Sungyeol cut in with a glare. “Okay! That’s enough about Myungsoo’s cuddliness!”

 

Dongwoo stopped and pouted. “I was just explaining why I call him Neko-chan… Besides, don’t you think he’s cute as well?”

 

“That’s not the point.” Sungyeol muttered, immediately turning away from Dongwoo to hide his blush. Of course, nothing got past the alien, who giggled at his best friend’s embarrassment.

 

“Luna-chan was right, you do like Neko-chan!”

 

“No I don’t!” Sungyeol protested, sputtering. “I just… respect the work that he does for my brother. That’s all!”

 

“I don’t think soooo!” Dongwoo sang. “I think you have a crush! I think you want Neko-chan to be your koibito!”

 

“I don’t want him to be my koi- whatever you said! And when did you get so cheeky? You’ve been hanging around with my brother too much!” Sungyeol complained, dropping his head into his hands in frustration. Just as he was about to continue his tirade about how he definitely did not have a crush on Kim Myungsoo, the door rang open and Sungyeol was greeted of the glorious sight of that very man.

 

And if he was trying to prove that he had no feelings whatsoever for his brother’s assistant, he didn’t do a great job of that, given that all he could do was splutter.

 

“I’m a little early…” Myungsoo started cautiously, his eyes landing on the sandwich on Sungyeol’s desk. “I thought you were open - I can wait outside if you’re having your lunch?”  

 

“No! No!” Sungyeol interrupted, finally finding his voice. “I mean… No. I wouldn’t want Luna outside in the cold-”

 

“It’s the middle of summer.” Dongwoo interjected.

 

“Then stay in here where there is air conditioning!” Sungyeol choked, shooting a glare at his innocent assistant. “Afterall, I only have Luna’s wellbeing in mind!”

 

“Well if you’re sure…” Myungsoo said.

 

Sungyeol nodded vehemently. “Of course I’m sure! Just take a seat and I’ll see to Luna as soon as I’m set up! Dongwoo, why don’t you grab Myungsoo-sshi a cup of coffee?”

 

Dongwoo ran off to the back to do just that, stifling a giggle as he went on his merry way. That left just Sungyeol and Myungsoo in the reception together. No words passed between them as Sungyeol got to work clearing away the remains of their lunch, but he felt ultra aware of Myungsoo’s eyes on him. He rifled through his file cabinet, making a please sound when he finally saw Luna’s name under the cat section. He pulled the file out with enthusiasm, finally turning around to face Myungsoo.

 

“I’ve got her file right here, so I can see Luna now.” Sungyeol made a move to take the cat, but Dongwoo stepped out with the drinks at that point.

 

“Actually, why don’t I look Luna-chan over and you two can fill in the paperwork to update her patient file! Me and Luna-chan have so much to catch up on anyway!” He suggested.

 

Sungyeol nodded, confident that Dongwoo was perfectly capable of a scheduled check up and also knowing just how excited he had been to see Luna. He turned to Myungsoo. “Is that okay with you?”

 

Myungsoo just nodded. “Of course. I mean, Luna seems to like Dongwoo and… I guess I need to fill things out and…” He trailed off as he handed the cat carrier over to Dongwoo, who immediately began to purr at the cat as he walked away.

 

Once again, Sungyeol and Myungsoo were left alone. Sungyeol immediately busied himself by reading through some of the documentation in Luna’s file. Of course, he knew everything written in that folder; he had spent so many hours of his life wondering whether it was good practice to take the contact number from any owner’s file. When he finally extracted the necessary forms, he turned to face the other man with a grin on his face.

 

“So I just need you to verify that this vaccination history is complete, just to ensure that she’s up to date on her shots.”

 

Myungsoo nodded, pretending to concentrate on the paper in front of him when actually his attention was solely on Sungyeol’s proximity to him, and his hand holding the paper in place. Sungyeol had nice hands.

 

“You have nice hands.” He said out loud. Immediately realising what he had let out, he paused and looked up to see Sungyeol looking down at him with wide eyes.

 

“I’m sorry?”

 

“Nice fans. You have nice fans. They blow in really nice cool air, especially when it’s so warm outside. It’s nice.” Myungsoo saved.

 

“Oh… I thought you said something different.” Sungyeol said, returning his gaze back to the document between them.

 

“I mean, it’s not just the fans… this whole place is so nice It’s so comfortable and welcoming and the wall decor is just so well chosen. I just love this place, it’s the reason I always come here.” He paused, then shook his head. “Well not the only reason, I mean I come here because I like - I mean, Luna likes you!” He nodded. “Yes, because Luna likes you!”

 

“Thank you?” Sungyeol said, unsure of what to say.

 

“It’s nothing!” Myungsoo waved his hand enthusiastically, knocking Sungyeol’s mug and causing the coffee to spill all over his desk. Sungyeol pulled his hand back, but the boiling liquid still reached his hand. He hissed in shock, causing Myungsoo to jump up quickly. “Shit! I mean - fiddlesticks! I am so sorry! Let me help.. Er…” He ran around trying to find some paper towels, his eyes wide in panic.

 

“I’m fine.” Sungyeol stated, wiping his hand of his jacket and then blowing on the burnt fingertips. Myungsoo didn’t stop fussing though, so Sungyeol repeated himself. “I’m fine!” But when Myungsoo continued to blither around, looking for napkins or towels or something, Sungyeol reached out to grab his arm. “Myungsoo-sshi. Seriously, I’m okay.”

 

Myungsoo froze at Sungyeol’s touch, spinning to face the vet. “But Dongwoo just poured it from the pot, it was still steaming…”

 

“It’s okay, really. It was only on my hand for a second. It doesn’t hurt too much.” Sungyeol protested, but Myungsoo shook his head.

 

“Let me see it.” He ordered, grabbing at Sungyeol’s other wrist to raise the hand to his eye level. Despite Sungyeol’s denials, he could see the skin turning red on the vet’s fingertips. “I’m so sorry…” He whispered, bringing Sungyeol’s burnt finger to his lips and kissing it softly. His eyes met Sungyeol’s, which were staring at him widely in surprise. He felt his face burn up at the contact and the feeling of Sungyeol’s hand against his lips, but he refused to look away. Sungyeol looked shocked, but he wasn’t moving away either, which to Myungsoo at least, was a good sign. As their eyes met, Myungsoo could see the reservation in the brunette’s gaze.

 

Myungsoo still hadn’t let go of Sungyeol’s delicate hand, his thumb now caressing the slightly red spot. “I told your brother that I only gave you those cupcakes the other day because a client didn’t want them.” He said quietly, his eyes moving down to gaze at Sungyeol’s hand joined with his own.

 

The vet looked confused at the sudden change of topic. “Oh, well, I still enjoyed them. I mean, we, as in me and Dongwoo. Even if you didn’t get them for us... I would’ve mentioned it earlier but-” Sungyeol tried to reassure the younger, but Myungsoo shook his head.

 

“No, it’s not that.” He looked up into the taller man’s eyes. “I didn’t tell him the truth.”

 

“But… why? What else could you have told him?” Sungyeol asked, his hand slightly shaking.

 

“The truth. That I bought them not for a client, not for the clinic, but just for you. I remembered overhearing you say that you liked chocolate when I was dropping off some paperwork to your brother, and I was thinking about you-” He stopped, suddenly feeling embarrassing. “Well, I always seem to be thinking about you and I just wanted an excuse to see you.”

 

“But why did you want to see me?” Sungyeol asked tentatively.

 

“Because I can’t get you out of my thoughts. I know we haven’t spent much time together, but I’d like for that to change. Maybe hang out with you outside of this clinic?” He laughed once, covering his mouth with his free hand. “Not that I don’t like seeing you here but… I’m not exactly sure how many times your brother is going to allow me to take a long lunch.”

 

He stepped closer to Sungyeol, tilting his face up to gaze in the vet’s eyes. “This is probably embarrassingly obvious, but I like you Sungyeol-sshi. I really like you.” He waited patiently for Sungyeol to respond, but the brunette simply stared at him. Myungsoo ran a hand through his hair nervously. “And Luna likes you too! If that helps… at all.” Sungyeol was still staring silently with the same frozen expression and Myungsoo began to feel any confidence that he had fall away. “I’m sorry… I guess I sprung that on you too quickly… I guess I should go - I’ll just wait outside for Luna...” Myungsoo made a move to step away, but Sungyeol tightened his grip on the younger man’s hand.

 

“No.” He said, finally finding his voice. “I mean, give me a second. You surprised me, that’s all… But in a good way… Ugh, I’m rambling.” Sungyeol shook his head. “Just… What I’m trying to say is that I feel the same way… I like you too, Myungsoo-sshi.”

 

Myungsoo looked up, his heart swelling at the words that had left Sungyeol’s mouth. “Really?”

 

“Yes… I mean... you’re the person I look forward to seeing the most, and I think about you a lot… I just never would have imagined that you felt the same way.” Sungyeol trailed off, looking up at Myungsoo shyly.

 

“So… About that date..?” Myungsoo prompted.

 

Sungyeol smiled. “I’d like that.” He looked away shyly, “I’d like that a lot actually.”

 

The shorter man beamed up at him, slightly bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Great. So are you free anytime-”

 

“Today!” Sungyeol interrupted him before blushing at his own zeal. “I mean, I might possibly be available today, if you were possibly available, and then we could possibly do something together, but only if you wanted to and-”

 

Myungsoo reached up, placing a firm hand on the back of the brunette’s head. He angled his face up, connecting their lips in a sweet kiss. It only lasted for the briefest of moments, but it effectively cut off Sungyeol’s rambling. Myungsoo pulled away, his mouth set in what was sure to be a permanent grin as he squeezed the vet’s hand. “Today sounds perfect.”

 

  

“Well, this is a surprising turn of events…”  Luna purred. “I never expected either of them to go for it, at least not without a push.” Dongwoo stifled how own giggle with his palm, trying not to alert the two men to their presence in the doorway.

 

“They are completely infatuated with each other…” The alien mused, watching the way Myungsoo’s hand played with the hairs at the back of Sungyeol’s neck. “It’s really nice to see. Dating rituals on my planet are different - none of this will they or won’t they stuff - but I think it would be nice to have to wait to confess. It would make it much more special.”

 

Luna scoffed. “Humans are complicated in every way possible. I’m quite pleased that I was born blessed with the feline life.”

 

Dongwoo ignored the cat’s haughty words and instead fixed his eyes on the couple in front of them. He felt his own heart fill with joy at the look of happiness on his best friend’s face. He knew how much this must mean to Sungyeol and he was glad to be witnessing such a momentous moment. Now at least Sungyeol wouldn’t have to restrict his time with Myungsoo to within the clinic, and Dongwoo would still have Hoya to spend the evenings with.

 

That thought made Dongwoo giddy with excitement. He always loved spending time with Hoya, the businessman always made time for Dongwoo and he was actually great fun to be around, even if he was cranky at times. Now, Sungyeol could be happy with Myungsoo and Dongwoo could be happy with Hoya and everything was going to be amazing! And Dongwoo would still get to hang out with Sungyeol at the clinic, so it wasn’t like they wouldn’t see each other at all.

 

Dongwoo didn’t bother to hide his grin at he stepped out from the doorway, thinking that maybe now was the right time for him to come back. Sungyeol and Myungsoo had moved past the kissing and the talking and were now just staring at each other in a way that was dreamy as much as it was romantic.

 

“Luna is as perfect as usual! No issues at all, she’s happy and healthy and cute as ever.” He announced, placing the cat on the desk as the pair jumped away from each other in surprise.

 

Myungsoo hurried over to pick his cat up. “That’s great to hear, thank you Dongwoo.”

 

“Oh it’s fine! It’s always fun to talk to Luna-chan, and you two had some time together to talk as well! It looks like it all worked out.”

 

Sungyeol colored and looked away. “Yeah… Erm, thanks, Dongwoo.”

 

“Did you do all of the forms and stuff? I don’t like doing the boring paperwork things so I hope you did.”

 

“Oh, well…” Sungyeol turned to the forgotten document on the desk, still dropping with spilled coffee.

 

“It’s okay though.” Myungsoo interrupted. “It’s not like me and Luna ever go anywhere else but here anyway, so the patient history that you have will be correct.”

 

Sungyeol smiled. “I guess. Thank you Myungsoo-sshi.”

 

“So… I’ll pick you up later?” Myungsoo asked, scratching Luna between her ears, setting the cat into a state of bliss.

 

Sungyeol watched Myungsoo and Luna fondly. “I’ll call you when I finish?”

 

“Let me give you my number.” Myungsoo reached out to take Sungyeol’s phone, but the veterinarian shook his head.

 

“It’s okay! I can get it from Luna’s file-”

 

“Still, I’d like to give it to you…” Myungsoo cut in. “I just want to… you know… do this properly? Does that make sense?”

 

Sungyeol’s face lit up with joy. “Yes, it does.” He reached into his pocket and handed his cell to Myungsoo, who set to work entering his details into Sungyeol’s phone. After a moment, he handed it back, smiling shyly. “I should get Luna home so I can go back to work… Your brother wouldn’t appreciate me being late.”

 

Sungyeol nodded in agreement. “I’ll call you later…”

 

“I can’t wait.” Myungsoo stated, as he placed Luna back in the cat carrier and made his way to the door. “Goodbye, Dongwoo. I’ll see you tonight, Sungyeol-sshi.” Sungyeol waved goodbye to Myungsoo as he left the building and headed out on the street.

 

Dongwoo couldn’t help but stifle his own laughter when Myungsoo twisted around to wave goodbye one last time and walked into a streetlamp - he could only imagine Luna’s reaction to the mishap inside her cat carrier - before his attention was diverted by the next customer walking through the door. He watched Sungyeol slip back into his professional mode, although the too bright smile slightly gave him away.

 

And even though the next customer was a difficult customer, it didn’t ruin the amazing mood that Sungyeol was in all day. Sungyeol’s happy mood made Dongwoo even happier and the day passed by in a series of happy customer and patients, kept entertained by the antics of Sungyeol and Dongwoo.

 

At the end of the day, after the last customer had left laughing, Dongwoo finally had a chance to speak to Sungyeol about Myungsoo.

 

“You’re really excited to see Neko-chan, aren’t you?” he commented, as he straightened out the magazines on the table with his powers.

 

“Very. And also seriously nervous.” Sungyeol sighed. “What am I supposed to say, or do? He works for my brother and he wears suits almost every day of the week. He’s so clever and cool and why would he be interested in me?”

 

“Silly Kirin-chan! Because you’re funny and nice and clever too! Don’t worry, Neko-chan likes you a lot, Luna told me that he’s always talking about you at home!” Dongwoo whispered the last part, as though he was imparting a big secret. “So you needn’t worry at all. No matter what you do or say on your date, I’m sure Neko-chan will love it.”

 

Sungyeol looked up with a smile. “Let’s just get home so I can start getting ready. I can barely deal with this waiting anymore!”

 

The drive back home was quiet, Sungyeol’s nerves were evident on his face and Dongwoo didn’t know what to say to cheer his best friend up, so he figured that he would leave Sungyeol be. He knew that after the date, Sungyeol would be a whole lot happier anyway. They reached the house quickly, climbing out of the car and walking indoors.

  
For once, Hoya was home before the two of them. He looked up from the dining room table when they walked in. “Hey.”

 

“You’re home early.” Sungyeol commented.

 

“I just fancied a change.” Hoya replied. “I thought we could watch a movie tonight. Dongwoo hasn’t seen E.T. so I thought that might be fun-”

 

Sungyeol’s face dropped. “Oh… I would love to, but I have plans. I’m going on a date.”

 

Hoya looked up with interest. “Oh? A date? With who?”

 

Sungyeol faltered, not sure whether or not to tell his brother the truth. Of course, Hoya knew about his crush on Myungsoo, but would he be okay with his brother dating his assistant?

 

“Just… someone who came into the clinic today…” He said cautiously.

 

Hoya smirked. “Oh? Do I know them?”

 

“Why would you know them?” Sungyeol said, maybe too quickly.

 

“Just that I saw Myungsoo this morning, he said he was bringing his cat in for a check-up at lunch. It was odd though, because he seemed a lot happier this afternoon. When I asked him why he just said it was because he had a date tonight. It’s just a coincidence that the two of you are on dates on the same night, especially since you two are painfully head over heels for each other.” He said the last part completely casually and Sungyeol inhaled.

 

“I’m sorry hyung! I know he’s your assistant but I can’t help-”

 

“Seriously, Sungyeol, do I look bothered?” Hoya cut in. “I’m happy for you, really. At least now you can stop your secret fanboying every time I so much as mention his name in conversation.”

 

Sungyeol blushed. “Was I that obvious?”

 

“Let’s just say that all of those drama classes you took in high school didn’t really pay off for you.”  

 

Sungyeol sighed. “I suck.”

 

“I will not dispute that.” Hoya remarked. “So, where are you going? And when?”

 

“I don’t know, and I don’t know.” Sungyeol responded. “He told me to text him when I finished work. I need to get changed though, I smell like animal.”

 

“Again, I will not dispute that.” Sungyeol glared at his brother, who held up his hands. “You said it first! Anyway, you should just call him right now, ask him to pick you up in forty-five minutes. That gives you time to shower and change and…”

 

“I’ll make it an hour!” Sungyeol interjected, running out the room with his phone in hand.

 

That left Hoya and Dongwoo - who had been entertaining himself with one of Hoya’s clicky pens throughout the whole conversation - alone in the dining room. Hoya turned to the alien, who looked up when he heard his name. “Well Dongwoo, I guess it’s just us tonight.” Only the first of many nights if his instincts were right about the two lovebirds.

 

Hoya smiled at Dongwoo, he was staring at him in complete fascination. “So, how do you feel about a movie?”

 

 

 

 

A/N: So maybe that was Myungyeol overkill, but who can say no to super adorable awkward flirting,  
and now that Sungyeol is distracted it just gives Yadong more time together!

 

 

Those two, urgh! So adorbs!

 

All Jade ever seems to say is adorable, sorry guys!

So more Yadong coming at you guys soon! We hope that you guys are enjoying so far! As always, drop us a comment and let us know what you’re thinking!

 

♡ Jade & Ray


	7. seven.

Sungyeol had ran out of the door approximately fifty-two minutes later, screaming things like “He’s early!” and “I’m not ready yet!” and “Why is he here now, I don’t even have my pants on!”. Dongwoo and Hoya had both found it extremely entertaining, watching the usually happy vet flap around in a state of utter panic. When he finally slammed the front door shut, screaming about tripping over the doorstep as he did so, Dongwoo collapsed into a fit of giggles.

 

“Kirin-chan is really excited, isn’t he?” He remarked to Hoya, who was also smirking. “I think he’s super-duper nervous as well, though.”

 

“Not that he needs to be. Myungsoo is completely infatuated with my overdramatic little brother, for some completely unfathomable reason. I’m sure Sungyeol could do just about anything during their date and Myungsoo would still spend the night staring at him with hearts in his eyes.” Hoya paused. “There’s really no way even he could mess this up.”

 

“That’s what I told him when we were travelling home.” Dongwoo agreed. “I told him that Neko-chan really liked him and that he really shouldn’t be afraid.”

 

They fell silent for a moment, until Hoya restarted the conversation. “I’m just relieved that someone finally made a move, I’m sick of the two of them trying to deny their feelings to me and the rest of the world.”

 

“And they are so cute together.” Dongwoo smiled, remembering how the two of them had looked earlier in the clinic. “I think that courting on Earth makes people much happier than it does on Mato.”

 

“Oh?” Hoya asked, “How does it work there?”

  
“If you’re attracted to somebody you just… tell them. If they don’t return your feelings, they won’t lead you on. If they do like you then you can just… be together.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Usually those people will court forever, because there are no misunderstandings since we’re always honest with each other. I used to think that human dating was silly when I watched it on TV shows, all of the tangled webs and drama, but now that I see it in real life I think it just makes everything much more meaningful. How special it can be when two people manage to work through their differences in order to be together. My opinion has been changed.” Dongwoo admitted. “I want to learn more about it…”

 

Dongwoo paused, thinking for a while before his face lit up with an idea. “Actually, Okami-san can teach me! You can tell me about it!” He smiled. “I haven’t seen Okami-san with any other human beings before, so I don’t think that you are courting anybody currently…”

 

“I… I have human interactions I’m just-”

 

“Kirin-chan says that Okami-san are married to his job, but I think that is a preposterous idea.” Dongwoo interrupted. “Surely there is somebody that Okami-san is attracted to.”

 

Hoya shook his head. “I don’t have time for dating!” He started, but Dongwoo just bugged him more.

 

“That doesn’t mean you don’t want to!” He insisted. “Surely there is one person Okami-san would like to confess to, or at least somebody you like a little bit?”

 

Hoya sputtered, turning away from Dongwoo with a blush on his face. “I’m not going to tell you-”

 

“Ha! So there is a person!” Dongwoo punched the air in mock victory, “Who is it, will you tell me? Please? Pretty pretty please?”

 

“It’s… it’s nobody!” Hoya stuttered, “It’s just somebody that I know, but I don’t think he knows. He makes me a nicer person, but I’m not sure if he has enough brain cells to notice that…”

 

Dongwoo tapped his finger to his lips in thought. “Hmmm… But Okami-san is always a nice person…”

 

Hoya sighed in frustration at Dongwoo, flicking him on the forehead. “You idiot. Why are we even talking about this? Let’s just watch the movie! It’s about an alien that wants to go home, I think you’ll enjoy it.”

 

“I don’t want to go home though, I want to go-”

 

“To Japan, I know.” Hoya finished, “You’ll be there soon enough, don’t worry. Now settle down and watch the movie. Have some popcorn.” He grabbed a handful of the popcorn that he had made earlier in the microwave and stuffed it into the alien’s mouth when he tried to talk back, exhaling in relief now that Dongwoo had been silenced. He loaded up the movie and pressed play, and soon enough Dongwoo was immersed in the story of E.T the extraterrestrial and Elliot, his human companion.

 

A few times during the movie, Hoya looked over to look at Dongwoo. The pink haired man was watching the screen with a look of enthrallment on his face, completely absorbed into the happenings of the movie. Hoya tried not to stare too much - he didn’t want Dongwoo to notice - but he couldn’t lie, it was difficult to pull his eyes away.

 

 

Dongwoo watched the younger man’s finger travel over his cell phone, the big grin letting him know exactly who the receiver was on the other end. Sungyeol sent his message, setting his phone down with a dream sigh. Dongwoo continued to observe him, waiting for his best friend to fill him in. But Sungyeol stayed silent, staring dreamily outside the window. He was broken out of his reverie when the alien kicked his chair.

 

Sungyeol bristled, turning to Dongwoo with a startled expression. “What?”

 

“Don’t be silly, Kirin-chan! Come on, tell me what he said!” Dongwoo was giving Sungyeol his best version of a puppy eyed stare, and the taller male melted.

 

“Oh, fine. As if I could ever resist you anyway.” He looked around - as if they were other people besides the two of them inside the clinic - and scooted his chair closer to Dongwoo. “If you must know, he’s taking me to the ballet tonight!”

 

“Woooooow.” Dongwoo said in amazement, his hands clasped together in delight. “That’s so cultured and refined… Neko-chan really does take you on the coolest dates! I didn’t even know you liked ballet.”

 

“I’ve never even seen one, but I’m not going to say no to Myungsoo taking me anywhere!” They both giggled together, and Dongwoo was happy that Sungyeol wasn’t as closed off about his relationship anymore. When the younger had started dating Hoya’s assistant a couple months back, he was shy and nervous about their budding romance. But ever since Myungsoo had asked Sungyeol to be his koibito, his best friend had gained an immense amount of confidence. Now he happily shared the details of his escapades with the black haired businessman to his best friend. He was all blushing smiles and sparkling eyes anytime the name Myungsoo was mentioned around him these days.

 

Dongwoo found it all to be rather cute.

 

“What about dinner plans?” He asked politely.

 

Sungyeol set his elbow on the table, leaning over to rest his cheek against his palm. “Myungsoo invited me over to his place. He’s going to cook for me before we go to the theater. He said he’s great in the kitchen, so I’m excited to taste his food! And it’s been awhile since I’ve seen Luna.”

 

“Yeah, now he doesn’t have to drag her in here and pretend she’s sick anymore.” The pink haired man laughed heartily.

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing! I’m sure Luna-chan will be excited to see you too. She actually really likes you, you know.”

 

“Really?” Sungyeol chuckled. “It’s good to know I have a cat’s approval.”

 

“Hey, Luna-chan is a hard kitty to please! If I remember correctly she said that ‘the Pretty Vet is good enough for Sparkly Eyes’, so you should really be thankful that you meet her standards.” Dongwoo said matter-of-factly.

 

“I still can’t believe that you knew Myungsoo liked me first, because a cat told you.” He shook his head in wonder. “Life has really been something ever since you showed up.”

 

“As long as I make things more exciting, I’m happy!”

 

“Take it from me, you should be very pleased then.” He cast a glance to his watch, a smile splitting his face again.

 

“Time to close up?” Dongwoo asked politely.

 

“Yes indeed! Let me just grab my keys so we can lock up, and then we’ll be on our way!”

 

 

 

 

 

Hoya walked into the break room, not surprised in the slightest to see his assistant already inside, pouring himself a cup a coffee. Myungsoo had developed quite the craving ever since he started dating his brother.

 

“Hey, you want a cup?” Myungsoo asked politely and Hoya nodded yes. His assistant grabbed another styrofoam cup from the cabinet, pouring a generous amount of the warm liquid into the cup for his boss. “Here you go.”

 

Hoya took the coffee, sitting down at the table to gather his desired cream and sugar from the variety of colored packets. “So I’ve heard that tonight is a big night.”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing too special. Well I mean, it is special. Our 100 days… which sounds lame to celebrate since we aren’t in high school. But uh- it’s definitely exciting for me. For the both of us actually. You know, because we kind of liked each other for awhile and now we’re officially a couple and that is something to be excited about, right?” He took a nervous sip of his coffee, standing awkwardly by the counter. Before Hoya could respond, Myungsoo started to ramble again. “Well you know your brother better than anyone! You know how he gets about these things. Sungyeol enjoys the big gestures and gifts and things of that nature.”

 

“Are you suggesting my brother is materialistic?” Hoya was joking, he knew that Myungsoo would never think anything of the sort, but watching Myungsoo sputter was rather amusing.

 

“N-no! Of course not! I just meant that he’s… I don’t know… romantic! Yes, romantic! And he deserves all the dates and candies and compliments because… well he just does!” He chuckled nervously, loosening his suddenly constrictive tie.

 

Hoya burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. Myungsoo looked really nervous now, unable to figure out if his boss was laughing with him or at him. “Myungsoo, I’m just kidding.”

 

Myungsoo let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “Oh. Oh. Well wasn’t that just the funniest joke ever?” He took another sip of his coffee, suddenly feeling very awkward.

 

Hoya rolled his eyes, getting up from the table to stand at his assistant’s side. “Myungsoo. You’re doing a wonderful job with my brother, I know how well you are taking care of him. There’s no need to be nervous around me.”

 

He patted Myungsoo on the shoulder, walking away with a smile. He stopped at the doorway, turning around dramatically. “That is, unless you hurt Sungyeol. Because then, me and you will be forced to have a very different conversation.” He narrowed his eyes, watching in amusement as Myungsoo visibly shivered. He smiled then, his sharp teeth gleaming in the light. “So have a nice date tonight Myungsoo!”

 

He walked off without another word, leaving his brother’s boyfriend in a slightly panicked state. A part of him wished that Sungyeol would have started dating sooner. This whole protective older brother thing was quite fun.

 

He walked back to his office with his coffee, getting comfortable behind his desk. He had finished a sufficient amount of work for the office today, but he still had some time to kill before heading home. He pulled open his drawer, grabbing his trusted little black book.

 

Hoya blankly stared at the open pages of his diary, reflecting on Myungsoo’s words. It almost seemed unbelievable that his assistant had been dating his brother for almost three months. It was even more unbelievable that Dongwoo had been living with him for nearly five months. It was a period of time that had flown by so quickly that Hoya didn’t even notice, and now he knew that his time with Dongwoo was coming to an end.

 

He had done the calculations and he knew that by the end of the next month Dongwoo would have saved enough money to make a good start in Japan. Hoya was aware of how happy this would make Dongwoo when he came to deliver the exciting news - the alien had been working so hard at Sungyeol’s surgery to earn the money for his trip, only resting on the weekends when the clinic was closed. And whilst Hoya was excited to tell Dongwoo the news, he couldn’t help but feel as though something was holding him back.

 

It was a feeling that he wasn’t all that willing to face - one that had come out of nowhere, or maybe it had been there for a while but he had simply pushed it to the back of his mind. Nonetheless, it was there now, this realisation that Hoya had been so unwilling to come to terms with.

 

The slightly startling, but undeniable truth was that Hoya didn’t actually want Dongwoo to leave.

 

 

 

 

 

Dongwoo strolled down the stairs once Sungyeol had left for his special date, heading immediately into the kitchen where Hoya was standing.

 

“Are you making dinner, Okami-san?” He asked, “Because I’m hungry and you still won’t let me use the oven…”

 

Hoya looked up, surprised to see Dongwoo. “Oh… I was going to cook, but I got distracted.”

 

“Okami-san? Are you okay?” Dongwoo asked, concerned.

 

Hoya nodded. “Oh, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.” He shook himself out of his daze and began to rummage through the cupboards before sighing. “Actually, how about we go out to eat tonight? I’m not sure I could focus long enough to make us a decent meal.”

 

“But what about movie night? We were going to watch Independence Day! I know you said the aliens are mean in that one but I still really want to!” Dongwoo pouted.

 

“Let’s do something different tonight, okay? We can go out to eat first, and then later once we come back we can watch the movie.” Hoya suggested. “I just want to get out tonight…”

 

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong, Okami-san? You seem a bit distracted.”

 

“It’s nothing you should worry about Dongwoo. There’s just a couple things I realized at work that are weighing me down a bit. But if you come out with me tonight, you could help me forget it?” Hoya pleaded and Dongwoo nodded, the idea of going to eat in an actual restaurant exciting him more than another night in with a sci-fi movie.

 

Dongwoo turned to Hoya. “Just wait! I need to go get ready.”

 

Hoya took in the alien’s attire - jeans and a baggy tee that would be perfectly suitable for casual dining. “What are you talking about? You look fine.”

 

Dongwoo just bounced on his heels. “But I neeeed to change, okay! I just need to.” Before Hoya could say anything else, the alien was out of the room and on his way up the stairs.

 

Hoya just sighed, tapping his feet impatiently as he listened to the sounds of Dongwoo above him. it couldn’t have been more than five minutes later when Dongwoo came bounding back down. Hoya’s jaw dropped when the alien stepped into the room, Dongwoo had left on his jeans, but he had changed into a green button up shirt and he had swept his fringe to the side. Hoya never thought that green and pink would work together - and if anyone else were wearing it they probably would have looked like a watermelon - but on this particular occasion, Dongwoo had proven him wrong.

 

“You look.. good.” He choked, swallowing when a wide smile lit up Dongwoo’s face. Even his smile looked nicer than usual today, and Hoya thought that was impossible.

 

“Well, Kirin-chan always dresses nicely when he’s going out to a restuarant with Neko-chan, I thought that I should do the same now.” Dongwoo did a twirl. “Do you like it?”

 

“Yes, you look great.” Hoya admitted, tearing his gaze away from the grinning alien.

 

“Then we should go.” Dongwoo prompted, and Hoya unfroze himself and took the lead, heading into the garage and taking the keys to one of his nicest sports cars. They climbed in and headed into the city.

 

Dongwoo spent the whole car journey incessantly chatting about the cute animals that he had seen that day, including a rabbit with a poor foot and a snake that wouldn’t eat. It was something that usually Hoya wouldn’t care less about, but there was something about the enthusiasm in Dongwoo’s voice when he spoke about his adventures at Companion Care that made Hoya smile.

 

When they pulled up outside the Italian restaurant that Hoya had chosen to eat at, Dongwoo looked up in awe. “It looks so nice!” He exclaimed, and Hoya had to agree. Originally he had just planned to keep it somewhat casual, but when he had seen Dongwoo in his new outfit he had been overtaken by an urge to take him somewhere a little upmarket, and Cessario’s was just the place. It was a nice little restaurant tucked away in a corner of town. Hoya often held less formal business meetings there - the place was well furnished and the food was amazing - but Hoya had this urge to treat Dongwoo. He knew his time with the alien was more limited than ever, and he wanted to spend it the best way possible.

 

Dongwoo did his usual routine of things whenever introduced to a new place - point at the shiny objects, say hi to anyone who made eye contact with him, and gush about how amazing the surroundings were - as they were lead to their dining area. Hoya might have pulled a couple strings to get them a more private table.

 

Hoya ordered for the both of them, sparing the waiter an endless amount of questions from the alien had he been allowed to look at a menu himself. Dongwoo was still craning his neck, looking at all the little decorations on the walls when the waiter returned with their wine. Hoya thanked him, pushing the wine glass closer to Dongwoo who was fascinated by the bubbles rising to the top of the drink.

 

“Woooooow, this looks cool! It’s really bubbly and pink, does Kirin-chan like this a lot?” He picked the wine glass up by the stem, holding it at his eye level to get a closer look.

 

“Actually yes, Sungyeol does enjoy this, but he usually gets a less expensive brand.” Hoya answered politely. Dongwoo set the glass black on the table, looking at it with extreme curiosity.

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s a type of sparkling wine, which means there is carbonation, or bubbles. It’s a blush rosato, that’s why the color is pink. It has more of a sweet aftertaste because of the fruits, so I thought you’d like that.”

 

“Oh, it sounds very nice! Thank you Okami-san!” He picked up the glass, bringing it to his lips with a serious look. He closed his eyes, taking a substantial sip of the wine. Hoya watched him patiently, waiting for his assessment. Dongwoo opened his eyes again, which were now bright with excitement.

 

“Okami-san, this is delicious!” Dongwoo happily picked up his glass again, tipping it back without abandon.

 

“Wait, Dongwoo, you might wanna slow-” He watched Dongwoo place the now empty glass down on the the table. “Down.”

 

“I like that a whole lot Okami-san, can I have yours too?” Dongwoo was eyeing his glass with such an outright desire that Hoya couldn’t bear to deny him.

 

“Well, I guess that would be alright but this time-” He didn’t bother to finish his sentence, watching as Dongwoo drained the second glass dry.

 

Their water appeared with their bread, and Dongwoo looked absolutely delighted to see him. “Oh, Sungjong-sshi! I’m glad you’re here! Can we have a whole lot of that pink stuff? Er- wine! The rosato!” He held up both of the empty glasses with both of his hands and a huge grin.

 

Their waiter looked at Hoya with questioning eyes, clearly deeming him the more logical one of the pair. Hoya pulled Dongwoo’s hands down, making him put the glasses back on the table. Dongwoo was pouting, staring at the glasses in bewilderment as to why they were still empty. Hoya looked to Sungjong with a polite smile.

 

“It might be best for you to just bring the bottle.”

 

 

A/N: Oh look things are happening, there is actually a plot to this story, would you believe it?!

Ahhh, how precious are Myungyeol? And Hoya is so mean to poor Myungsoo - blame Ray for that scene of Hoya bullying our dear visual!

But now is Yadong time~ Be ready!

As always, drop by with a comment because we love to know what y’all think so far <3 Mucho love

♡ Jade & Ray

 


	8. eight.

Hoya smiled faintly as he looked down at the sleeping figure on the couch. After he had finally decided that it was best to get Dongwoo home, the alien had collapsed on the couch and Hoya was simply too tired to try and urge him to go upstairs. Anyway, it was best if Dongwoo slept right now, since the alien had been saying some weird things. It wasn’t as though he had drunk that much - only a couple glasses of wine - but it had definitely hit the pink haired man hard. They had barely finished their main course when Dongwoo had decided that he didn’t like the table decorations - he said that they were blocking his view of Hoya - and had promptly decided to attempt to throw them out of the window. Using his powers. The restaurant owner wasn’t impressed when he saw his precious glassware on the floor, thankfully he missed the part where it was actually levitating.

 

Luckily, Dongwoo managed to charm the bemused owner around - in Italian, of course - and he said he wouldn’t make them pay for the chipped ornament. Hoya decided that it was probably a little risky to allow Dongwoo to stay long enough to order dessert, so he told the alien that they would be leaving. Dongwoo hadn’t taken that announcement happily, pouting and trying to use aegyo on Hoya to make him stay. When Hoya had dragged the reluctant extraterrestrial out of the restaurant, Dongwoo had stayed long enough to drain the rest of the bottle of wine.

 

That, it turned out, was Hoya’s greatest mistake.

 

Though the car was parked right outside the restaurant, it took Hoya five minutes to get the wobbly alien into the vehicle, having to stop every two seconds or so to say something like; “No, Dongwoo. You can’t set fire to that bush.” and “Dongwoo, will you please turn that street lamp back on”. When Dongwoo was finally seated in the car and buckled in - after Hoya had made sure that the child lock was on - Hoya climbed into the driver’s seat and placed the key in the ignition.

 

Before Hoya could make any move to reverse out of the parking spot, Dongwoo stopped him.

 

“Okami-san.” He started, his words slurred. Hoya turned to face the alien with a look of unhidden annoyance. Dongwoo was smiling, his eyes glazed.

 

“What?” He asked, trying to summon some patience.

 

Dongwoo grinned wider. “My Okami-san… My super fluffy Koinu-chan… Thank you for being so good to me. You’re the bestest ambassador I could ever have asked for when I came to Earth.” He looked down in a display of shyness that was odd to see from Dongwoo. “Actually, when I came to Earth I was only bothered about going to see all of the kawaii things in Japan… I wanted to meet all the cute animals and buy everything about Hello Kitty-chan… I didn’t think anywhere in the world had anything cuter than Japan. But then I met you, Koinu-chan, and you are the cutest thing in the whole wide universe!”

  
Dongwoo opened his arms wide to express his words, his clumsy hand hitting Hoya’s hand in the process. Dongwoo didn’t even notice though, he continued his long-winded speech.

 

“And I really do still want to see all of the cute things. There are so many things that I learned about that I haven’t seen yet, and I really really really want to see them.”

 

“I know, Dongwoo, I promise we’ll get you to Japan soon.” Hoya took a deep breath, preparing to tell Dongwoo just how soon he could go to the place of his dreams. “Actually, I wanted to-”

 

Dongwoo interrupted him though, looking up to meet Hoya’s eyes. “But Koinu-chan, the thing is that…. I want to see them all with you.”

 

Hoya’s mouth opened at that. “What-”

 

“I don’t want to leave Koinu-chan…” Dongwoo whispered.

 

Hoya shook his head. “But what about Japan? And why are you calling me that new name? I thought I was Okami-san.”

 

“You were Okami-san before, but now you’re Koinu-chan!” Dongwoo announced as if it was the simplest thing ever, which did nothing to help relieve Hoya’s confusion.

 

“Dongwoo, you’re not making much sense right now…” He said, and Dongwoo sighed a deep sigh of frustration.

 

“But I just said it!” He whined. “I do want to go to Japan - lots and lots and lots and lots - but I also want to stay with Koinu-chan forever and ever, because Koinu-chan is nice and cute and really, really sweet!”

 

Hoya looked away from Dongwoo’s face, which was bright with excitement at his declaration. “Dongwoo, I think we should get you home-”

 

“I don’t wanna go home. I want to stay here on Earth with Koinu-chan and Kirin-chan and Neko-chan and Luna-chan and-”

 

“I meant my house, not Mato.”

 

“Oh. Good. Because Koinu-chan’s home is my home now…” Dongwoo said, “And I like it very, very much. It’s very splendorous. Yes, Koinu-chan, perhaps we should go back now.”

 

Hoya took that as affirmation, and immediately twisted the key in the ignition. Before long they were on the way home and Dongwoo was listing all of the things that he loved about Hoya’s home, not least the bedding in Dongwoo’s bedroom which he found so very soft, and the lamp which exhibited what he called a ‘very ethereal glow’ onto the room.

 

Not a minute too soon they had arrived back at Hoya’s home, and Hoya struggled to get Dongwoo out of the car. It took some coaxing but eventually the two of them managed to get inside the house, Hoya carrying most of Dongwoo’s body weight as they stumbled to the couch - the stairs up to the alien’s room an unsurpassable task in Dongwoo’s current state.

 

When he finally got the alien laid down, Hoya stood up to leave. He was about to just leave Dongwoo there, but at the last moment he decided that maybe he should get the drunk man some blankets. It wasn’t really a necessity - it was a warm night and Dongwoo was warm blooded anyway, but Hoya just felt this need to look after Dongwoo in his vulnerable state.

 

“I’ll be back in a moment.” He whispered to Dongwoo who nodded slowly, his eyes half closed. Hoya couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips at the sight of Dongwoo there, his lids heavy and his cheeks rosy from the wine, his lips were parted slightly and Hoya couldn’t stop his gaze from landing on them.

 

He found himself wondering how those lips would feel on his - would they be soft? Probably, nothing about Dongwoo was rough at all. Would they be warm, like the rest of Dongwoo? Hoya almost wanted to lean down there and then and find out.

 

“Koinu-chan?” Dongwoo’s voice broke his thoughts and Hoya gasped, standing up and running out of the room. His heart pounded against his ribs as he tried to shake away the thoughts that he had been having. Why was he imagining kissing Dongwoo? That was completely out of the realms of acceptability. He clenched his fist, trying to pull him out of the daze that he was in. What had he wanted? Oh, blankets.

 

Hoay tried to busy himself with trying to find some bedding to make Dongwoo comfortable downstairs, and it almost worked. By the time he had arrived back to Dongwoo’s side, a pile of his most comfortable blankets in his arms, he had almost forgotten about his little daydream. But the moment he saw Dongwoo lying there, his small body curled up on the couch and his pink hair fanned out around him, he knew he was in trouble.

 

Dongwoo looked asleep, his eyes now completely shut and his breathing steady. Hoya tried his best to be silent, walking over slowly to muffle the sound of his footsteps. He crouched down by Dongwoo’s side and covered the alien with the blankets before standing up to go to his own bed.

 

A featherlight touch ran down his arm. “Thank you…” A sleepy voice came from behind him, and and Hoya span around to find Dongwoo looking up at him. Dongwoo’s fingertips travelled down to Hoya’s hand, squeezing it softly before letting it fall back to the couch again.

 

Hoya’s hand came to scratch the back of his neck in an embarrassed gesture, his hand still tingling from Dongwoo’s touch. “I thought you were asleep.”

 

Dongwoo shook his head. “I am very sleepy, but I wanted Koinu-chan to come back before I went to sleep.” He paused for a moment before his eyes widened a little. “I’m sorry I’m too tired to watch the movie.”

 

Hoya cracked a smile, his fingertips running softly over the pink hair. “It’s alright. You don’t have to apologize.”

 

Dongwoo nuzzled his face in the pillow, a worried expression coming over his features. “Koinu-chan, are you angry at me for drinking too much of the pink stuff? Because I ruined your night out?”

 

Hoya shook his head. “No, Dongwoo, of course I’m not angry at you.”

 

It was true - although his meal had been interrupted by Dongwoo’s antics, he had still really enjoyed his time alone with Dongwoo. Just sitting across the table from him, watching the alien laugh and smile… it pleased Hoya to know that Dongwoo was enjoying himself.

 

“Good.” Dongwoo murmured. “Because I never ever ever want Koinu-chan to be angry at me, because Koinu-chan has been so nice to me and… because I think that I might like Koinu-chan.”

 

He mumbled the last part so quietly, but Hoya knew what he heard. He needed to clarify though. Hoya felt his heart pounding against his ribs as he opened his mouth, willing the shaky words out. “...What did you just say, Dongwoo?” He asked. He kept his gaze on the floor, feeling almost shy - an emotion that was completely unfamiliar for the businessman to feel. When Hoya received no answer he repeated himself again, finally forcing himself to look up at Dongwoo.

 

He almost laughed when he realised that the alien wasn’t responding because he had already drifted off to dreamland. His pink lips parted as the deep breathes of sleep went through him. Hoya stared at the smaller man’s mouth, the lips that had whispered out the sudden confession.

 

He sighed, Dongwoo’s quiet words running through his head but still not making much sense to Hoya. How could Dongwoo like him? It didn’t make sense at all - there had been no signs, nothing to show that such an admission of feelings was coming. But the way that it had been said and the timing, it all pointed towards Dongwoo actually having feelings for Hoya.

 

That was something that Hoya wasn’t prepared to face.

 

What was even worse was the fact that Hoya’s own heart was racing at a million beats per minute as he looked down at the sleeping alien. It was a sensation that was completely foreign to him in a way that was almost familiar. It didn’t make sense at all, and that’s what scared Hoya the most. He liked things that added up, things that were predictable and understandable using simple logic. Logic didn’t even begin to explain the way that Hoya’s breath caught in his throat whenever he looked at the serene sleeping alien, or the way he couldn’t stop his hand from reaching out and brushing a stray hair away from Dongwoo’s face.

 

He probably would have stayed there all night, if it hadn’t been for his brother.

 

Hoya heard the sound of the front door opening, hushed voices drifting down the hallway. He could hear the unmistakable sound of his brother’s laughter, before the door shut closed again. Sungyeol appeared a few moments later, his cheeks flushed and a blinding grin on his face. He faltered once he saw Hoya on the couch, nervously tugging on his hair. “Oh, I didn’t expect to run into you this late.”

 

The elder quirked his eyebrow at him. “It isn’t even midnight…”

 

“Oh… well, I guess I just wasn’t expecting to see you.”

 

“You weren’t expecting to see me in my own house?”

 

Sungyeol huffed, stomping his foot in a mini tantrum. “I meant I wasn’t expecting to see you right this second! Geez, why do you enjoy torturing me so much?”

 

Hoya shushed him, his head motioning towards the sleeping man at his side. Hoya lowered his voice before he continued on. “Because teasing you is my right as your older brother. I assume your night went well. Do I need to have a conversation with Myungsoo about the etiquette of dropping off a date at the end of the night? I’m sure the neighbors might frown upon you two making out at the front door.”

 

“We weren’t making out!.” Sungyeol had the decency to look scandalized. “It was just a kiss! And Myungsoo is already scared enough of you so don’t.”

 

Hoya threw his hands up in surrender. “I’m just joking with you. I’m glad your date went well, and I know that Myungsoo takes care of you.”

 

“Probably because you threatened to kill him if he didn’t!” Sungyeol argued.

 

“I didn’t threaten to kill him, for your information. Myungsoo understands the art of subtlety, unlike other people.”

 

Sungyeol scoffed, collapsing onto the couch next to his brother. He peered over at the alien who was sleeping soundly. “What’s up with him? I didn’t even think it was possible for Dongwoo to fall asleep before you.”

 

“He didn’t so much fall asleep, more like passed out. I’m lucky that I managed to get him out of the car and safely onto a soft surface. For a second there I thought he would collapse on the floor.” Hoya admitted worriedly.

 

Sungyeol tilted his head as he listened to the information, a confused expression on his face. “What do you mean passed out? Was he exposed to something that made him feel sick? What were you guys even doing?”

 

“Nothing weird, I swear! I took him out to dinner, I was going to tell him the news about Japan, that he would be able to leave next month, and I ordered us a couple glasses of wine-”

 

“You did what!” Sungyeol jumped off the couch looking at Hoya in alarm, who glared at him for the sudden movement that risked Dongwoo waking up. “You gave him wine?”

 

“Well, yeah. I thought it might be nice to celebrate so I got a bottle for the both of us, but Dongwoo didn’t exactly handle it in the best way, or share actually. But he had fun, so it was okay. I’ve never seen someone get drunk so fast, or come down so quickly for that matter.”

 

“That’s because he’s not supposed to have any! He told me that alcohol affects Matoki really badly, most of them avoid it completely. I don’t even let him handle any of the cleaning products that have alcohol in it, just to be safe.”

 

“Oh.” Hoya said, suddenly feeling very guilty. “I didn’t know… he’s never said anything to me about it. He doesn’t seem hurt or anything, just… really, really happy.”

 

“But Dongwoo is always happy.” Sungyeol argued and Hoya shrugged his shoulders.

 

“I don’t know, he just seemed really excited to be having dinner with me. He didn’t mention that any food or drink was off limits when I suggested we go out for dinner. When our server brought us the wine he didn’t say he couldn’t have any, he only said he wanted more.”

 

Sungyeol sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Hyung… don’t beat yourself up about it. I’m sure he didn’t realized that wine was alcoholic, otherwise he would have told you. You didn’t force him to drink it, so it’s not your fault.”

 

“But I’m supposed to take care of him-”

 

“You did. You are, right now. Obviously alcohol doesn’t hurt Dongwoo, he just has a nonexistent alcohol tolerance and I understand why they might discourage drinking on Mato. But you got Dongwoo home safely, you put him to bed and made sure he was alright. You could’ve just tossed him on the couch and went to bed, but you didn’t. You’re still sitting here with him, checking on him. You are taking care of him the right way hyung, you shouldn’t ever doubt that.”

 

Hoya nodded, his eyes glancing back over the sleeping figure next to him. “Do you think-” He stopped himself, but Sungyeol urged him to continue.

 

“What is it hyung? You can talk to me about anything. I know Dongwoo the best so I might be able to help.”

 

Hoya let out a sigh, his gaze still focused on the pink haired man, the peaceful expression on his face as he slept. “I know that when we drink, sometimes we say things we don’t mean. I know that Matoki are supposed to be honest, that they only tell the truth.” Hoya shook his head, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say. “I don’t know… maybe alcohol changes that, alters their brain chemistry, their nature… makes that honesty disappear. Is it possible that Dongwoo could say something accidentally?”

 

Sungyeol looked confused, the thought of his best friend being dishonest hard to comprehend. “Why? Did Dongwoo say something cruel or hurtful?”

 

Hoya shook his head. “No, nothing like that.” In fact it was the opposite, saying that he wanted to stay in Japan, wanted to stay with him… surely that must have just been the alcohol’s influence. “You know, it’s nothing really. We all have said things we didn’t mean, it’s not a big deal. I’ll stay down here with Dongwoo a little longer, just to make sure that everything is alright. Why don’t you head up to bed, I’ll take it from here.”

 

Sungyeol nodded, wishing the both of them goodnight before disappearing up the stairs. After watching him go, Hoya turned back to Dongwoo, who was still sleeping soundly. He brushed the pink bangs off of the alien’s face, a hundred questions running through his mind as he watched him. But one train of thought stood out from amongst the others; it was highly likely that Dongwoo wouldn’t remember what he said… that his confession to Hoya would be lost amongst the haze of the alien’s first night under the influence. There was a chance that Dongwoo might not realize that he admitted that he had feelings for Hoya.

 

And if that was the case, if Dongwoo woke up and continued on like normal, would Hoya have the guts to ever admit what really happened that night?

 

Or would he take the easy way out and let Dongwoo think - let himself think - that those softly spoken words from the alien weren’t the truth… but a drunken mistake that would be better left in the past?

  
A/N: All the cute things are happening now and it’s making us squee!  
Ahhh, Hoya looking after drunk Dongwoo, what could be better?! And his caring side is coming out (who knew you had it in you, Okami-san?)

  
Did you see the new name for Hoya? Are you confused? All will be revealed in no time!  
In the meantime, drop by with a comment and tell us what you think!  
♡ Jade & Ray

 


	9. nine.

Once Hoya knew that Dongwoo would be leaving so soon, time simply flew by. Dongwoo had been ecstatic when he heard the news, jumping around and telling anybody who would listen that he was going to Japan! The pink haired man practically threw himself into preparations for the trip and, for the most part, those preparations went smoothly.

 

Hoya also threw himself into planning, making sure that Dongwoo had all of the necessary flight documents and even putting down a deposit for an apartment in Tokyo. It was in a high rise apartment block, overlooking a large park that Hoya knew that Dongwoo would totally adore.

 

There was so much to be done that the day of the move - the day that Sungyeol had dubbed ‘J Day’ - descended on them all too quickly for Hoya’s liking.

 

The day began early in the morning, when Dongwoo woke Hoya up by barging into his bedroom and jumping onto the bed. “Wake up Okami-san! It’s J Day! It’s J Day! It’s J Day!” He screamed, sounding way too much like a six year old on Christmas Day. Hoya groggily rubbed at his eyes, cracking them open to see Dongwoo staring down at him eagerly.

 

“Dongwoo… It’s too early for this…” He mumbled, trying to roll away from the eager alien.

 

“But Okami-san. It’s J Day, you need to wake up! You’re not allowed to be asleep! There’s so much to do and so many things to arrange and we need to be at the plane station early, you said!”

 

Hoya sighed and pulled himself up, his legs feeling like lead as he swung them to the floor. The truth was that he had every right to be tired - he had barely slept a wink the last night knowing that Dongwoo was leaving the next day - but Dongwoo was right. As organized as they already were, there was just too many things to do.

 

“It’s called the airport, and I’m awake…” He mumbled, causing Dongwoo to laugh.

 

“It’s okay, I made Okami-san some coffee because I know how grouchy you get in the morning!” He passed Hoya a mug that the businessman hadn’t seen until then and then smiled. “It’s the bestest coffee ever, because I made it!”

 

Hoya smiled at Dongwoo’s energy, taking a sip of the coffee before gagging at the overly sweet taste. Dongwoo’s smile dropped so Hoya forced himself to swallow the syrupy liquid.

 

“Okami-san? Was the coffee not nice..?” Dongwoo asked.

 

“No, it was nice.” Hoya lied, trying not to think of the cavities this cup of supposed coffee would give him. “I was just taken aback by how tasty it was!”

 

“Good! Because I made it extra special. I put six big spoons of sugar in to give you the energy for today!” Dongwoo beamed. Hoya couldn’t help but chuckle into the cup lightly, of course Dongwoo would do something that ridiculous. He took another sip, once again forcing himself to swallow it. Dongwoo watched keenly for a moment before hopping up. “Well then Okami-san, I am going to go and change! Kirin-chan is taking me out for a while!” Dongwoo smiled and left the room.

 

Hoya watched the alien’s disappearing form for a moment, before lowering his eyes back to the murky coffee in his hands. It was weird to think how comfortable he had become with Dongwoo’s presence in his life. Once upon a time a rude awakening like that would have annoyed Hoya to no end, but now it was just… just so Dongwoo that it didn’t even bother him. It was scary to think of this big house so empty again, just filled with himself and Sungyeol. Dongwoo was a solid presence in Hoya’s life now, and the thought of living a life without him in it had Hoya’s heart sinking in his chest.

 

But Dongwoo’s excitement showed just how much he wanted to go to Japan, and Hoya had no right to take that away from him. Whatever feelings he had needed to be pushed back down. Hoya could deal with them when Dongwoo was gone. Thinking about it now would only make the next few hours so much harder for the both of them.

 

 

 

“We’re here.” Sungyeol announced, unlocking the door to the clinic. It was nothing like the other mornings when they showed up at Companion Care together, there was no excited chatter or predictions of what the work day would bring. They moved inside together, Dongwoo nonchalantly turning on the lights with a snap of his fingers.

 

He moved over to the reception, sitting in his usual post from behind the desk. Sungyeol followed him over, leaning on the counter with his forearms. “Why did you want to come here?”

 

Dongwoo shook his head, trailing his fingertips over the desk in front of him. “I figured since I spent so much time here, that I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. I thought it would make me feel better to see the clinic one last time before I left… but now all I feel is-”

 

“Sadness?” Sungyeol added helpfully and the alien nodded. “You know… it’s okay to feel sad Dongwoo. I feel the same way.

 

“I’ve been looking forward to J Day for so long, I thought when it came that I could only feel happiness. But now I just feel… confused? I don’t know what’s wrong with me Kirin-chan.”

 

Sungyeol sighed, making his way around the reception to throw an arm over Dongwoo’s shoulders. “There’s nothing wrong with you Dongwoo. It’s normal to feel this way. Even if the goal was to always get you to Japan, that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to miss Korea.” Sungyeol bit his lip, looking away from the alien. “Trust me… Korea will miss you.”

 

Dongwoo looked over to his best friend, who was obviously trying to keep his composure. He stood up, wrapping his arms around the taller man’s back. “Oh, Kirin-chan. I’m going to miss you so very much. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

 

Sungyeol hugged him back tightly, resting his head on top of the pink hair. “You’ve just become such a big part of my life… I’m not sure how I’m supposed to continue on without you.” His eyes looked around the clinic. “It’s going to be strange to work here without you.” He loosened the hug, looking into the shorter man’s eyes. “And all the animals will miss you too.”

 

The alien smiled sadly. “I will miss them too. It made me so happy to help them get healthy… like I was using my powers for something good.”

 

“You were! There were tons of patients that only got better because you were here Dongwoo. There’s so many things I couldn’t have accomplished without your help.” Sungyeol told him honestly.

 

“Then what will you do without me here?” Dongwoo asked worriedly.

 

“I’ll figure it out. I’m a good vet, I can help my patients on my own.” There was a moment of silence between them, before Sungyeol forced a smile back onto his face. “Plus, if I have a really difficult case, I can just call you up and put the animal on the phone.” He laughed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe that I’m actually considering putting an animal on the phone.”

 

“You might have to use the face call thingie… not all animals are the talkative type, especially reptiles. It would be helpful if they could see me so they would know I’m someone they can trust.” Dongwoo stated matter of factly.

 

“I’ll blame it on the fact that they are cold-blooded. And it’s called FaceTime.” Sungyeol correctly him lightly.

 

“Oh, that’s right! FaceTime. And we’ll use it all the time, right Kirin-chan? Not only because of the animals, but so we can talk to each other? Just for fun?”

 

Sungyeol ruffled his hair, making the smaller man laugh. “Of course we will! You didn’t think that you could get rid of me just because you are moving to another country, did you? Remember the Earth saying I taught you?”

 

“Mhmm!” Dongwoo said happily. “BF4L: best friends for life!” He held up for fingers cutely as he rattled off the acronym.

 

“Exactly! So let’s swear that no matter where we are on this planet, together or apart, our friendship will always be strong.” He held up his pinky, and Dongwoo did the same.

 

“Pinky promise.” He said seriously, just the way Sungyeol had taught him. They wrapped their fingers together tightly, kissing their thumbs to seal the deal. They hugged each other again, just enjoying the closeness for a little while longer. When Dongwoo pulled away he felt much lighter, as if some of his burdens had been lifted.

 

“You ready to go now?” Sungyeol asked and Dongwoo nodded slowly.

 

“Yeah… I think I am.” Dongwoo said honestly, leading the way to the front door. He let Sungyeol out first, turning around to get one last look at what had become his workplace over the past couple of months. “Someday, I’m going to see you again.” He vowed, lifting up his hand to snap off the lights.

 

 

 

“It’s finally J Day.” Hoya looked up at the voice, scoffing when he saw his assistant in the doorway.

 

“Don’t tell me that they’ve got you calling it that too.”

 

Myungsoo shrugged his shoulders, walking further into his office. “What? It’s catchy. And it’s basically all Sungyeol has talked about this whole month, so it’s kind of stuck in my head.”

 

“Really? I thought he wouldn’t like talking about Dongwoo leaving…” Hoya guessed, probably because that’s how he felt. He did his best to smile and act interested when Dongwoo talked about all the things he would do once he landed in Japan, but it was hard to hide the fact that he wasn’t exactly excited for the alien to go.

 

Myungsoo sighed, moving closer to stand in front of Hoya’s desk. “I didn’t say he liked talking about it. He hates that Dongwoo is leaving, but he can’t tell Dongwoo that. He’s working so hard to be supportive in front of Dongwoo that whenever he is away from him, Sungyeol can’t help but talk about it, you know? I don’t mind, I’m just glad he isn’t keeping it all bottled up. But this is hitting him a lot harder than he’s letting on.” He stopped his explanation, looking at Hoya with curious eyes. “But what are you doing here? I thought you weren’t going to come in today.”

 

“I wasn’t going to, but Dongwoo asked Sungyeol to take him by Companion Care, so I figured that I’d keep myself busy here until they were ready to meet up again.” Myungsoo nodded in understanding, sliding his hands into his pockets.

 

“Well, for what it’s worth, Sungyeol’s really thankful for everything you are doing for Dongwoo. He told me that he wouldn’t have been able to handle setting up the arrangements for Dongwoo in Japan, so he’s glad that you were able to take care of the technicalities of the move.”

 

Hoya smiled sadly, he knew exactly why Sungyeol hadn’t wanted to be involved in such things. It was hard to set up the tickets and secure the apartment, because they were concrete actions that resulted in Dongwoo leaving. Not that he would ever admit to his brother or the alien that it was difficult. “It was something that had to be done, and I’m more suited to handle these sorts of things than Sungyeol. But thank you for being there for him as well.”

 

Myungsoo smiled. “As Dongwoo would say, it’s my job as his koibito.”

 

Hoya smiled at the word, just another little expression of Dongwoo-ism that he would miss with the alien’s absence. “You should come with me when I leave. I’m not exactly sure what Dongwoo wants to do with his last day in Korea, but I’m sure that my brother would like to have you there. He’ll need the support.”

 

“Of course. Whenever you’re ready, just let me know.” He bowed slightly at Hoya and let the office.

 

Hoya crossed his hands in his lap, thinking about the inevitable departure that evening. Sungyeol would be pleased that Myungsoo would join them today, and he knew that Sungyeol would need the support once the alien was gone. He rested his chin on his fist, looking out the window of his office; he wasn’t sure who was going to support him when the time came to leave Dongwoo in Japan.

 

 

 

True to his word, Myungsoo did accompany them to the airport. This was a good choice because he spent the whole journey squeezing Sungyeol’s hand in the backseat as Hoya and Dongwoo rode in the front. Through the rearview mirror Hoya could see that his brother was holding back his tears, which was good because he knew that should Sungyeol cry he would probably do the same and Hoya never cried.

 

He tried to convince himself that the reason his hands were shaking was just secondhand excitement for Dongwoo, that it was nothing to do with the fact that the distance between the car and the airport was narrowing. He tried not to notice the way his heart sank every time they passed a road sign directing to the airport, but it was hard.

 

Dongwoo was also unusually quiet, but Hoya could only put that down to the fact that he was either excited or nervous or that unmistakable mixture of both. The whole car was silent, with Sungyeol staring out of the window in the back and Myungsoo staring at his boyfriend in concern, and Hoya stonily staring at the road in front of them. It was a silence that Hoya couldn’t really put his finger on, but he could definitely say that it was tense. His fingers moved to the radio and he pressed it on, filling the car with the sound of some k-pop song about a man who had lost his lover and wanted her back.

 

And as much as it was almost difficult for Hoya to admit, the lyrics were words that he could relate to in a way that made him very uncomfortable. The way the singer felt about his lost lover - the closeness that only she could give him - filled Hoya with dread at the thought of feeling the same way about Dongwoo.

 

He hated himself. He hated himself for leaving it this late - they were literally on the way to the airport, where Dongwoo would depart for his new life in Japan. Hoya was going to join him, just to make sure Dongwoo got to the new apartment safely and settled in, but in no time he would be back in Korea and Dongwoo would stay in Japan and that distance… that loss… Hoya couldn’t even bear the thought of it.

 

He had heard of people having these epiphanies before, when they finally realised the feelings they had been denying themselves. It was so cliche that Hoya could only chuckle quietly to himself. Of course he had to realise right now what he had been hiding all along.

 

He was in love with Dongwoo, and it was too late to do anything about it.

 

They arrived at the airport after a long journey that went way too quickly. After they parked up in the large airport parking lot they opened the doors of the car and all four of the occupants stepped out. Hoya began unloading the luggage from the trunk placing onto the ground as Dongwoo stood with Myungsoo and Sungyeol. “So this is it…” Sungyeol whispered. “This is goodbye.”

 

“Not yet!” Dongwoo replied. “You still have to come into the plane station with me to wait for the plane…”

 

“No, you’re already running late for your check in and besides… I think it’s probably best for me to say my farewells here. If I come in with you I’ll only get sad and that will make you sad and you have to be happy! You’re going to Japan finally!”

 

“But Kirin-chan….” Dongwoo said, his bottom lip trembling.

 

Sungyeol rushed forward and embraced the frowning alien. “Dongwoo, we will see each other soon. Face Time, remember! You promised you would call me as soon as you settled in! Don’t be sad, okay? Remember how much you have always wanted this.”

 

“I’m so glad that I met you, Kirin-chan.” Dongwoo mumbled into Sungyeol’s chest, before pulling back and looking behind Sungyeol to where Myungsoo stood awkwardly. “And you, Neko-chan. Tell Luna-chan that I said bye. Look after Kirin-chan for me.” He said the last part sternly but Myungsoo just smiled weakly.

 

“I will, you have my word.” He said, bowing graciously.

 

Finally, Dongwoo turned to Hoya who stepped forward and placed his hand on Dongwoo’s shoulder.

 

“It’s time to go.” He said, and Dongwoo nodded. Hoya turned to begin walking, before spinning back around and throwing his car keys to Sungyeol. “4pm tomorrow. I expect you here to pick me up.”

 

Sungyeol gave a salute, his forced smile doing nothing to hide his watery smile, before he climbed into the driver’s seat of the car.

 

Hoya and Dongwoo made their way into the airport, the fancy building making Dongwoo ‘aah’ in awe. They had no time to stare though, so Hoya led Dongwoo to the check-in counter, passing him all of the necessary documents and praying that he managed to get through with no hitches.

 

Whilst the airport staff did look at Dongwoo funnily, Hoya guessed that was more down to the outrageous colour of his hair (Dongwoo had insisted on re-dying it right before the trip, which Sungyeol was happy to do). They made it easily through check-in and security and stepped into the departures lounge with half an hour to spare until their flight boarded. Dongwoo insisted on visiting all of the shops in the lounge, and Hoya trailed behind him as the pink haired man got excited over the overpriced goods on offer.

 

Finally, the tannoy announced that their flight was boarding and Hoya pulled an excited Dongwoo away from the jumbo-sized box of M&Ms that he had clocked onto.

 

“Come on, Dongwoo. Our plane is here and it’s time for us to get on. Just show the lady that slip that you’re holding and she’ll let you on, okay?” He advised as they made their way to the boarding gate. Dongwoo nodded obediently, his teeth worrying his lip at the thought of finally getting on an airplane to Japan.

 

“It’s time now… But...” He whispered, more to himself than to Hoya. The younger heard though, turning to look at Dongwoo confusedly.

 

“But what?” He asked.

 

Dongwoo dismissed Hoya with a wave of his hand. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” He said, but Hoya couldn’t help but feel like Dongwoo was lying. That concerned him more than anything, because Dongwoo never lied - it just wasn’t in his nature.

 

They boarded the plane easily - Hoya once again thanking the stars that Dongwoo didn’t cause any trouble - and as they settled into the cushy seats of the plane Hoya couldn’t help the sinking feeling that once again returned to his chest.

 

They were on the plane now. They were going to Japan, and there was no turning back, not for either of them.

 

And as the plane began its slow journey to the runway, Hoya realised that he really didn’t want to do this. When Dongwoo began giggling as the engines kicked in and they began speeding down the runway, Hoya couldn’t help but turn to face the alien, watching the excitement in his sparkling eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder if Dongwoo really found it that easy to leave him, because this whole thing was anything but easy for Hoya.

 

 

 

A/N: Cutie best friends saying goodbye to each other! :/  
  
And our dear Hoya has finally had the epiphany, but is it too late? What’s going to happen?!  
  
Tune in next time to find out!  
(Ugh there’s a freaking airport scene how freaking cliche can we get blame Jade for that. Ray is just watching Jade write the cliche wtf-ery.)  
Ugh, comments, as always, are verrrry appreciated (we love to know what you guys think!).  
♡ Jade & Ray


	10. ten.

Japan was everything Dongwoo wanted it to be and more.

 

From the very second they stepped out of the doors of the airport in Tokyo, he knew they were in his beloved country of interest. He didn’t know how - it was actually probably all of the people speaking Japanese - but there was also something inherently, well - Japanese about the place. They climbed in a taxi and Dongwoo read out the address on the paper Hoya had passed him to the driver and soon enough they were travelling through the streets of Japan.

 

Dongwoo’s hands were pressed against the window as he took in the sights that Tokyo had to offer, he bugged the taxi driver with pointless questions about tiny things and thankfully it wasn’t too long of a journey until they arrived at Dongwoo’s new abode. Hoya insisted on paying for the cab, using up some of the Yen he had been saving from his last business trip to the country, and in no time at all they were stood outside the building, suitcase beside them, ready to head up to the place that Dongwoo would be living.

 

It was a fancy apartment building, Dongwoo really liked the decorations and he inhaled in appreciation. Whilst Hoya got to work speaking to the owner of the flat and finalising the paperwork Dongwoo spent the minutes running his hands over the marble counter.

 

Finally, Hoya had a key and Dongwoo could only follow him as he climbed into the elevator and punched the button of the floor that they were heading to. When the finally stepped out onto the plush carpet of the 12th floor, Hoya was pleased to see that it was just as well maintained as the pictures showed. At least Dongwoo would be living somewhere comfortable and inviting. They wheeled the suitcase down the corridor to Dongwoo’s door. Hoya unlocked the door and they stepped into the apartment, which once again looked exactly like the pictures Hoya had seen.

 

He had chosen the place all by himself, taking into account the location and the accessibility and the view which Dongwoo noticed immediately.

  
“Okami-san, look!” He shouted from the front room window. “There are trees and a lake and flowers and it’s so pretty!”

 

Hoya smiled, strolling up behind the alien who had his nose pressed against the glass. “It really is.” He agreed. “Do you like it?”

 

“Like it? Okami-san I love it!” Dongwoo grinned. “The couch is so plushy and the bed is so big and the view is so splendid and everything is perfect and Okami-san, I can’t thank you enough! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” He ran forward and wrapped his arms around the ambassador, who froze at the touch. “Seriously, Okami-san, I can never ever thank you enough for all that you have done for me…”

 

Hoya wrapped his arms around the alien loosely, allowing himself a moment to take in Dongwoo before they got down to all of the important things that needed to be done.

 

Because soon enough they were sitting down to go over finances and all of the things that Dongwoo needed to know about living alone, and soon after that Hoya was standing up and preparing to leave.

 

 

 

Hoya took one last glance around Dongwoo’s apartment, before picking up the keys to his rental car. “Well, it looks like you’re all set. You have my number just in case you have any questions, otherwise I’ll see you next month when I fly in to check in on you.”

 

Dongwoo crossed his arms, a worried look taking over his features. “Next month? Won’t we talk before then?”

 

Hoya smiled sadly at the floor. “You don’t need me anymore, Dongwoo. You’re in Japan now… this is where you want to be.”

 

“Okami-san…”

 

“I have an early flight. And today has been a long day. So I should get going so I can check into my hotel.” He moved to the front door of the apartment, pushing down that feeling of panic at leaving the alien behind.

 

“That’s it?”

 

Hoya stopped at the door, turning around to face the pink haired man. Dongwoo looked upset, his eyes downcast on the floor. “What else is there?”

 

Dongwoo stepped closer, his voice sounding hurt. “But Okami-san, aren’t you going to say anything else? Or hug me? I don’t know… this just feels wrong somehow. We’re supposed to be friends-”

 

“I’m your ambassador Dongwoo. It was my job to get you to Japan, and I’ve done what I promised to do. Enjoy your time here, I’m sure that it will be everything that you dreamed about.” Hoya couldn’t bear to look at Dongwoo any longer, he looked so sad and lonely and a million other things that just seemed wrong on the usually happy alien. He knew he was being harsh but he just couldn’t pretend anymore. It was better for Dongwoo to think that he didn’t care than for him to know that Hoya cared too much.

 

“But Okami-san-”

 

“Goodbye Dongwoo.” Hoya walked quickly out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him resolutely. He practically ran to his car, needing to get out of the building, needing to get away from Dongwoo as soon as possible. He wanted nothing more than to wrap the smaller man up in his arms, to demand for him to return with him on the flight the next morning.

 

But the alien coming back to Korea was Hoya’s dream, not Dongwoo’s. It wasn’t fair for Hoya to make Dongwoo give up Japan, the only way for the alien to be happy was to let him go.

 

Then why did this feel so inexplicably wrong? Why couldn’t he turn on the car and drive to his hotel? Why did he feel like leaving Dongwoo like this was a huge mistake? He sat in the driver’s seat in silence, his forehead resting on the steering wheel as he tried to get the courage to do what he knew he needed to do; the only way this could work would be for him forget about his feelings, and especially the words Dongwoo had said to him that one drunken night.

 

He was pulled out of his musings by the buzzing of his cell phone. He looked at the screen, not surprised to see his brother’s face; he probably wanted to know that Dongwoo had made it to his new apartment safely. He begrudgingly picked up the call, hardly in the mood to pretend to be happy.

 

“Hyung, what happened? I just got off the phone with Dongwoo, he said that you didn’t even tell him goodbye properly… That you said you weren’t even friends?”

 

“Sungyeol, I-”

 

“No you listen hyung! I’m not sure what’s going on with you, but you can’t treat Dongwoo like this! You know how important today was to him, how happy he was-”

 

Hoya sighed into the phone. “I am perfectly aware of how happy he is to be here Sungyeol. I spent the whole day with him, showing him around, and getting him settled. He’s finally where he belongs now, he doesn’t need me anymore.”

 

“Hyung, what is this about?”

 

“I just couldn’t act like I was happy about him being here anymore Sungyeol. I know I must have hurt his feelings, but it’s like he doesn’t even care about what he’s leaving behind. Japan is the only thing that matters to him, and I should have never let myself entertain the idea of him wanting to change his plans.”

 

“Hyung, you know that Dongwoo cares about us.”

 

“Sungyeol, there are things you don’t understand.”

 

“Then talk to me about it!” Hoya bit his lip, looking out the window worriedly as the silence dragged on. “Does this have something to do with the night Dongwoo got drunk?”

 

“What? Why would you say that?”

 

“Because Dongwoo said something to you that night, you asked me if I thought he could lie… I don’t know hyung, ever since then you’ve been different around him. More careful… did you two fight?”

 

“No, we didn’t fight.”

 

Sungyeol sounded exasperated, his patience starting to wear a bit thin. “Then what did Dongwoo say? What could have possibly happened to make you act this weird?”

 

“He said he liked me, okay?”

 

“Dongwoo also said he liked vanilla cola and rubber ducks, so what’s your point?”

 

“He didn’t mean it like that. He confessed to me Sungyeol. Dongwoo told me that he had feelings for me.”

 

There was a beat of silence on the phone, where Sungyeol took a moment to comprehend his brother’s words. And then there was laughter, and the sharp noise of what sounded suspiciously like knee slapping.

 

“Sungyeol, what-”

 

“What the hell are you waiting for hyung? Dongwoo likes you! And you like him!”

 

“I do not-”

 

“Hyung. He’s been ‘working’ a minimum wage job for like six months in order to earn his way to Japan on his own. But he somehow managed to afford a first class plane ticket and one of the nicest apartments in a luxury building in Downtown Tokyo.”

 

“Well, money isn’t an issue for me, why wouldn’t I give him something nicer?”

 

Sungyeol groaned, as if this conversation was painful for him to endure. “Hyung, you realize that you are still charging me rent to live in your house and I’m your brother. But you have no problems just doing all these things for Dongwoo, he doesn’t even have to ask and you go out of your way to make everything perfect and easy for him. You like him. You want him to have the best things and experience Japan without any worries.” He paused for a moment. “Actually you really like him hyung; you like him enough to put your own desires aside, in order for him to be happy. That’s why you didn’t tell him that you feel the same, isn’t it? Because you care about him enough to want him to be happy, even if it isn’t with you.”

 

“It’s… better this way. Dongwoo gets his dream, and that’s what is most important.”

 

His little brother made a noise of disapproval. “No it isn’t! Dongwoo deserves to know how you feel about him, especially if you already know that he feels the same.”

 

“But he might not! Those words could have been a mistake-”

 

“Go back to Dongwoo and find out the truth, or spend the rest of your life wondering what if.” Before he could even protest his little brother had hung up the phone, apparently done saying what he needed to say. Hoya slid the phone back into his pocket, thinking over their conversation.

 

Sungyeol could be wrong, Dongwoo might not have been sincere in his confession and he could just be upset at what he thought was the loss of a friend. But if Sungyeol was right, if Dongwoo honestly liked him, could he live with himself if he just walked away like this?

 

He was out of the car in seconds, determined to return to Dongwoo’s apartment and face the truth. He faltered for one moment when he reached the door, and that moment was just enough for the door to open right before his eyes. In front of him stood Dongwoo, his face blank but his eyes showing the signs of crying,

 

“I thought you were leaving.” Dongwoo mumbled. Hoya felt the guilt fill him up at the tears that were filling the alien’s eyes. “You seemed in a hurry to get away.”

 

“I’m sorry Dongwoo.” Hoya whispered. “I needed to come up here and say… I needed to say goodbye properly.”

 

“You’ve already said goodbye.” Dongwoo replied, his eyes still fixed on the floor. “What else is there to-” He was cut off by Hoya’s arms wrapping around him, pulling Dongwoo against his chest.  It was then and only then that Dongwoo let the tears that were so close to falling go.

 

When Hoya felt the wetness on his shirt he raised his own shaky hands to Dongwoo’s cotton candy coloured hair. “Why are you crying?” He asked, full of confusion.

 

“I was so excited to come here… it’s been all I could think about for so long… So why don’t I feel happy right now?” Dongwoo mumbled tearily.

 

Hoya looked up, his own eyes sad. “It’s because I’m still here. When I’m gone and you’ve had time to settle in on your own everything will feel great. You can go out to explore Tokyo, you can see all the cute Hello Kitty things…” Hoya trailed off, his throat tightening at the thought of Dongwoo happy here in Tokyo, Dongwoo on his own out here in the world.

 

“But Okami-san, that isn’t true.” Dongwoo said, pulling back as his eyes bored into Hoya’s. “Because the thing that’s making me so sad isn’t you being here, it’s the thought of you not being here anymore.”

 

“But you’ll get used to it-”

 

“No I won’t!” Dongwoo cut in, his voice raised slightly in a way that Hoya had never heard from Dongwoo. “I don’t want to get used to life without Okami-san, because that’s a really sad sounding life and I like to be happy, and Okami-san makes me happy!”

 

“What are you saying Dongwoo?” Hoya asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

 

“I’m saying that I like you, Okami-san.” Dongwoo replied, his eyes dropping to the floor and his hands nervously twisting. “I really really like you! You’re nice and you’re cute and you’re handsome and you’re just… Okami-san.”

 

“Dongwoo…” Hoya breathed. “Is that what this is about?”

 

“I think so…” Dongwoo admitted. “I think that - as crazy as it sounds - I don’t want to be in Japan if it means leaving you. I think I want to stay in Korea with Kirin-chan and the cute animals. He’s my best friend and I don’t want to be apart from him. But mostly I think I want to be wherever you are. I love Japan, but I also think that I might love you, and Japan will always be here for me to visit but if you leave me behind right now then I might just lose you… I don’t ever want to lose you.” Dongwoo trailed off, his eyes flicking nervously back up to Hoya’s before dropping straight back down to the floor again.

 

“I don’t want to lose you either, because I love you too.” Hoya replied, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders as he realised that he definitely did love the alien in front of him. “I’ve been dreading today because I knew that saying goodbye would break my heart, but I didn’t want to ask you to stay because I never wanted to put you in a position where you had to choose…”

 

“Okami-san?”

 

“Yes, Dongwoo?”

 

“If I come back with you right now, will you promise me something?” Dongwoo asked.

 

Hoya was prepared to do just about anything as long as it meant that he got to keep Dongwoo by his side, but he didn’t vocalise that thought. Instead he just nodded silently.

 

“Will you promise that we can come back to Japan sometime? Not to stay, but to visit for a while? Just you and me, maybe even Kirin-chan and Neko-chan if they wanted to.” Dongwoo paused briefly, before smiling sadly. “I want to stay with you, and I know that your life is in Korea, but I really really want to visit Japan properly one day.”

 

“Of course.” Hoya promised, knowing that it was a promise he could fulfill so easily. “As long as you answer a question for me…”

 

“A question?” Dongwoo asked with interest,

 

“Yes. A while ago when you were drunk, you called me a different name. You called me Koinu-chan. I wanted to know… what does that mean?”

 

“Koinu-chan means puppy.” Dongwoo stated. “Because when I first met you, you were like a wolf, tough and protective at the same time. But now, you’re just cute and cuddly all of the time so you’re Koinu-chan. My Koinu-chan.”

 

Hoya felt his heart fill with joy at those words, and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and pulling Dongwoo into his arms. “And you’re my Dongwoodedoodeedoop.”

 

Dongwoo giggled. “Close enough!”

 

Hoya just smiled as he pulled away from the tight embrace and guided his hands up to Dongwoo’s chin, pushing it up so their eyes met. “But seriously, I’ve just got used to Okami-san. You can’t change it now.”

 

“Can too! Koinu-chan. Koinu-chan!”

 

“Dongwoo…”

 

“Koinu-chan!”

 

“Seriously-”

 

“Koinu-chan! Koinu-chaaan!”

 

“I’ve changed your mind. I’m not taking you back to Korea with me.”

 

“But Koinu-chan-”

 

Dongwoo’s joking pleas were cut off by lips pressing against his own. He wrapped his arms around Hoya’s shoulders, smiling into the kiss. He was pleased to see that Hoya looked just as happy as he felt when they pulled apart. “So does this mean you’ll be my koibito?”

 

Hoya laughed, holding Dongwoo’s cheeks in his hands. “Yes… I’ll be whatever you want.”

 

The alien squealed, practically jumping onto Hoya in his exhilaration. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to be in love! Isn’t this just wonderful, Koinu-chan?”

 

The taller man nodded, kissing Dongwoo’s lips sweetly as he held onto him.

 

“There’s just one thing I need to know, Koinu-chan.”

 

Hoya brushed the pink hair out of Dongwoo’s eyes, smiling at him warmly. “What’s that Dongwoo?”

 

 

“Do you burn easily?”

 

“Do I- what?”

 

“Well, if you want to officially transition from my ambassador to my koibito, there’s a couple of Mato rituals we’ll have to do, but don’t worry! If the fire hurts you I can always heal you straightaway!”

 

“Wait, what?!” Hoya squeaked, jumping away from Dongwoo’s hot body in shock.

 

“Like I said! No need to worry-”

 

“But fire… and burning… and healing and… Can’t we just kiss it out or something? Do this the Earth way. I feel that as your ambassador it’s important for me to inform you that- Ow! Dongwoo what did I say about the fire! It burns! Don’t give me that look! I’ve changed my mind- Okay, that feels better now. Please, no more fire!”

 

As Hoya’s increasingly annoyed shouts rang out through the twelfth floor of the Tokyo apartment, he couldn’t help but wonder how his life had ever come to this. He figured that it had all started with a crashed spaceship and an alien in a dinosaur onesie. He remembered that fateful night, how disbelieving and annoyed he was.

 

And now here he was, in Japan with that very alien over half a year later, completely happy even though he was also very annoyed. He didn’t think that he would have changed anything, even if he had the option to, because everything right now felt so perfect-

 

“Ow! Dongwoo!!”

 

Except maybe, just maybe, if he had the option to, he would have taken Dongwoo’s power over fire away. Simply for the safety of all people on Planet Earth. Even if dating the alien might be slightly hazardous to his health, knowing that he would have Dongwoo to heal him with his kindness, his affection, his love - made it all worthwhile.

 

It was now time for Hoya to leave the title of Earth ambassador behind in favor of a much more meaningful one - Dongwoo’s lover.

  
  


 

A/N: Okay, we really have no idea how we actually got here, but they are finally together!

Can we have a round of applause for the happy couple!

After ten chapters of utter ridiculousness we finally made it to the end of the second DarkSpirit collab. Can I get a woot woot?!

Ugh, this was such an insane thing to write. We have to take into account that this was meant to be a lot shorter than this (It’s like 38000 words!) but I mean it is an xdark_blue and StarlightSpirit collab and we both have a reputation of making things longer than they have to be. But Jade can honestly say that she absolutely adores how this turned out, so she is absolutely ecstatic right now (we wanted to write something ridiculous and that is what happened).   
Thank you all for supporting Animal Planet!  
Please drop by with a comment if you have time. We love to know what you think of our writing <3

♡ Jade & Ray

 


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